


Starburst Scars

by alikatastic



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms
Genre: BAMF Daryl, F/F, F/M, Gay Love, Lori Grimes and Rick Grimes are Divorced, M/M, Multi, Out of Character, Rick and Daryl do the chitty chitty bang bang, Rick is a badass, Shane Being an Asshole, Walkers, gay man, hardcore rick grimes, im serious not cannon at all, not cannon, pet dogs werewolves, shane is an ex-boyfriend off more than 1 person, so many original characters, some cannon stuff, some of the same places, the first person rick meets is Daryl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 10:35:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16574807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alikatastic/pseuds/alikatastic
Summary: Rick wakes up in the hospital two weeks after the dead rose and 3 days after his home town evacuated. Trying to find his way out of the hospital he runs into Daryl Dixon. They lave for Atlanta looking for Carl,Lori, and Merle. They always seem to get close, but with so many problems it seems impossible. Overtime Rick and Daryl get closer and meet new friends.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at Rick/Daryl. I have written many stories and gotten a lot of hate. I abandoned all of my previous work and took a long hiatus. I really love The Walking Dead, but this is how the story folds out in my head. Love and constructive criticism is appreciated. I hope at least one person enjoys my work. Thank you.

Rick woke with his heart racing. All he could remember was the shot shredding his chest, and Shane begging him to stay awake. Then the dark surrounded him, and he sank under. Looking around he found that he was alone. He knew in a hospital, but he knew something was wrong there was no tell sign of beeping machines. He wiggled his toes and attempted to flex his muscles. He could feel how weak he was, they burned from shifting closer to the edge. Using all his energy he slid his legs off the side and lifted his torso. From that simple move the muscles burned, his head swam, and he was having a hard time catching his breathe. He could feel the air getting caught in his chest if he took to deep a breath, so he figured he should not move any further. 

 

“Nurse!” When there was no answer he began to panic. His mind was racing trying to put things together. He gripped handfuls of blanket ripping at them, as his toes brushed the tile. “Nurse! Please help!” He could hear his heart racing in his ears and his blood pumping in his veins. Adrenaline was pushing his body into overdrive and clearing his mind. “Anyone! Please help me!”

 

He struggled to his feet and immediately felt his world tilt. He hears his hip and head collided with the ground with a resounding thud before he felt it. Stars clouded his eyes as he slumped onto floor with a sigh. He took a moment to ponder why it was so warm in a hospital. Hospitals were usually kept cold enough to thwart disease. He rolled on to his stomach to try and catch his breathe. After a few moments he reached for the bed pulling with all his might forcing himself to his feet. The world seemed to be spinning as he stood then attempting to gather the strength to walk. He stood there with his eyes closed for a few moments taking in his surroundings. He heard what seemed to be someone shuffling down the hall with uncoordinated steps. He pushed himself to move as fast as his body would let him to the door and pull it open. There was a man that appeared to be a doctor with scrubs and a lab coat stood a few feet from his room.

 

“Sir. Doctor, could you help me?” Rick attempted to push the bed out from in front of his door. 

 

The doctor turned around and Rick gasped pulling back almost losing his balance. The doctor was missing most of his face and one eye. The front of his scrubs was soaked in old dried blood that stuck to his body. Rick closed his eyes praying to wake up. As he stood there he heard the bed slam and flinched slamming his eyes open. The doctor was attempting to work his way into the room through the bed. It was as if he did not understand that he had to go over the bed. He needed to wake from this nightmare. Rick pressed against the bed the man snapped at him like a rabid dog. Rick felt that if he had not backed away I would have taken a chunk from his flesh. It was like a nightmare come to life. He screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath begging any God to wake him. Instead of the answer he was hoping for the man reached for his face trying to grab Rick. He shoved the bed back with a surge of adrenaline and slid out into the hallway. He ran as fast as he could down the hallway with the man following. Rick’s heart was pounding, and his head was spinning, but he knew he could not give up. He did not know if his son was alive. All he did know was he couldn’t die without doing everything in his power to see his son at least one more time. He refused to let this cannibalizing demon reach him. Sliding around a corner Rick almost lost his footing and he bloody hand reached for him. They both tumbled to the ground and Rick let out a yell. He reached one hand up pushing the gnashing teeth away from his face. Never in his life had Rick felt this kind of fear and determination. He attempted to slide his legs from under the dead-weight body. Sliding his hand around the floor hoping to find something to do damage with. He planted both feet planted on the ground he propelled himself back. He twisted his body onto his knees with a jerky motion he was back on his feet running. He knew he was pushing his body past its limits, but he had to survive. He had to live to find his family. Thinking of his son pushed him further. Pushing his legs as hard as he could go he slid to a stop in front of locked double doors. He slid the block of wood from the handles and spun swinging. He cracked the man in the head and heard the bones crunch. 

 

Rick slid the floor with his back to the door letting the wood slip from his hands and clatter to the floor. He brought his knees up and dropped his head down breathing hard. Sweat was dripping down his face and burning his eyes. Looking down to his hands he saw they were coated in blood, but it didn’t look right. It was thick and black like old blood. Like dead blood. He brought his hands up and started tugging at his hair. With a small scream he slammed his head back into the door. He could hear moans. Human moans echoing on the other side of the doors. He closed his eyes settling his emotions. Then he felt fingers touching him. He yanked away as quickly as he could, but a hand was holding onto his robe. He shrugged it off backing away from the door stepping over the doctor's body. The door had writing on it. In big bold letters. Don’t open dead inside. He looked around for an exit and began walking. Every move he made sent stabbing pains into his side radiating from his bullet wound. He was terrified to lift the bandage and see what was underneath. He feared he may have an infection, so on his way out he kept his eyes open for the pharmacy. 

 

Rick took turn after turn trying to escape the maze. He felt trapped. As if the walls were closing in around him. He was becoming frantic as he ran down the halls pushing doors open. He found himself looking at a closet full of scrubs. He pulled on some pants and a top, grabbed a bag that was sitting in the corner and kept going. He slid around another corner and saw a man. This man seemed to be searching for something. He was walking up and down aisles of drugs, but not taking anything, he has come across. Rick cleared his throat attempting not to startle the other man in the room. But he turned around with a crossbow loaded and aimed. 

 

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m just looking for antibiotics.” Rick lifted his arms into the air, standing tall. 

 

The man steadied his weapon stepping closer. “You been bit?” 

 

“No. I was chased down the hall, but no teeth marks.” Rick lowered his hands but left them in front of him trying to placate the stranger. 

 

The man widened his stance not dropping his weapon. “Nothing bit ya. What about scratch? Got any cuts?”

 

Rick stepped forward. “No.” He lifted his shirt and turned in a circle. “We had a tussle but I’m fine.” 

 

“Then what ya need the pills for?” He dropped his bow just a fraction. “Let me see under that bandage.” 

 

Rick slid the wrapping down and let the bandage fall away. He could smell it almost immediately. It was infected and black. Red lines moved out in a starburst formation, but there was no doubting that it was a gunshot wound not a bite. The other man slung his crossbow onto his shoulder and held his hand out. 

 

“Daryl.” Rick stepped forward and shook his hand. “Rick. Rick Grimes.” 

 

They both jumped when they heard a door slam open and then slam shut. After a few moments the could hear heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. Daryl slid a large knife out of his belt and handed it to Rick and had his crossbow ready to fire at a moment’s notice. The running stopped and steadied out to a walk, but they could still hear someone humming. Both were in a stance to fight when a woman skipped around the corner. Rick stepped forward with the knife held in front of his face. She gasped and stopped immediately. A bright smile grew on her face as she waved at them. 

 

“Howdy boys!” she tugged on the sleeve of her lab coat and kept walking closer. 

 

She slid around the counter slipped her pack off her back and set it down on the counter. She unzipped the bag and walked to a shelf and immediately grabbed a large bottle. Rick lowered his knife and stepped forward. 

 

“Mam? What are you doing?”

 

She turned facing him pulling on her long braid. “First thing you do at the end of the world is raid the pharmacy. I mean think about it. In the beginning everyone wants the narcotics, but what about antibiotics. Or what about people with diabetes. They need medication every day. And no one thinks about the other things they sell. The last pharmacy I hit had soda. Like real deal in a can soda! They have water, flashlights, batteries, anything you need really. Well along as you have a weapon. And I guess a way to transport it.”

 

Rick could tell she was passionate about this. It almost seemed as if she had explained her reasoning many times before. “How do you know what you might need?”

 

Rick stepped closer as she laughed. “Five years a pharmacy technician.” 

 

She turned busying herself again. Daryl stepped in front of Rick speaking directly to her. “Know what to take for an infected bullet wound?” 

 

She tilted her head twisting her braid between her fingers. “Well, I have a good idea of what would work.” 

 

Daryl lowered his weapon staring her down. “So, answer the question.” 

 

She turned pushing up onto her toes and grabbed two large bottles of a medication. “There are less than 500 in this open bottle, but you should have plenty. Take it four times a day until the infection has been gone for at least 5 days.” She shoved the other bottle in her bag. “If that don’t work, I don’t know what to tell ya.” She shrugged. 

 

She went back looking over all the medications grabbing some every now and then. Daryl looked over to Rick and shrugged his shoulders. Rick shoved the bottle in his bag and pulled it onto his back.

 

“So, how do I get out of here?” They both looked at him as if he had lost his mind. 

 

“The same way you go here, man.” Daryl gazed at him then shifted his attention down the hall. 

 

Rick shrugged. “That would be an ambulance.” 

 

The woman did a little hop and clapped her hands. “Oh! You have an ambulance! All those medical supplies.” 

 

Rick shrugged. “No. Ambulance as in I was shot some time ago and woke up this morning in a bed.” He turned and looked to Daryl. “I honestly have no idea what’s going on. I feel like this is all just a nightmare, and I am going to wake up at any time.” 

 

Daryl scoffed. “Fucked up nightmare man. Who dreams the dead get up walking and eat people? I thought you were just a dumb son of a bitch running around with no weapon.” 

 

“Hm, it appears he does have a weapon.” She pointed out. “So, do you have anywhere to go?” 

 

“I need to head home. See if my family is there. I have an ex-wife and a son. I need to know if they are alive.” 

 

“Man, it’s been 2 weeks since the world went to shit.” Daryl leaned against the counter. “It's a lost cause.” 

 

“I have to see for myself. And if not, I have supplies. A gun safe for one.” 

 

Daryl nodded. “I’ll lead you out of here. We'll get over to ya house. then I’m headed to Atlanta. I gotta find my brother. He was on the run before the dead rose.” 

 

“Well, this is nice and all, but I need to be leaving.” She flicked her braid over her shoulder. “I have a place. Not too far from here. If you go down to the local pharmacy, it’s the next right all the way down the road. I have the three houses in the cul-de-sac. The names Kim.” 

 

Kim turned walking further into the pharmacy waving behind herself. Rick looked to Daryl and shrugged. He motioned for Daryl to lead the way tightening the straps on his back. Daryl knew they could not go the way Kim arrived, so he leads them further down the hallway to a stairwell. He pulled out a flashlight leading Rick down the stairs and out the backdoor. Just out the back door there were bodies wrapped in tarp just thrown about. The rancid smell made Rick gag. They both took off jogging to a tarp covered hill. Daryl ripped the tarp away revealing an old motorcycle. Daryl jumped on the motorcycle and Rick slid in behind him. He gave Daryl directions, and they took off not stopping until they made it to the driveway. 

 

Rick ran in screaming for Carl. Daryl ran up behind him slamming his hand over Rick’s mouth.

 

“You stupid or something. Gotta make sure there ain’t no biters.” 

 

Daryl slid from room to room with his crossbow poised to fire. When he started to make his way, upstairs Rick walked further into the house. He knew they weren't there. He could feel it. He slowly made his way upstairs noticing none of the pictures were on the walls. The first room he came to was Lori’s. Even without the floral comforter and pillows the room was still very feminine. The bed was cast iron bed painted white. The little white vanity had been cleared and the mirror was flipped down. The closet was mostly empty, and the photo albums were gone. Rick staggered into Carl’s room. It looked like it had been ransacked, but Rick knew it was just from Carl packing. He grabbed his clothes, his school books, and some toys. It brought tears to his eyes. His boy scout sash was still pinned to the wall. His soccer trophies were still sitting on the dresser, but his picture was gone. Tears were burning his eyes. He had to find his boy, his pride and joy. He quickly turned coming face to face with Daryl. 

 

“Come on man. You’ll find your boy.” 

 

They both stepped into the last room, and it appeared to be the only one untouched. 

 

“Lori and I just finalized our divorce. I hadn't found another place yet.” 

 

He slipped into the room pulling a large case from under the bed. He stood running his fingers over the lock before turning the knobs for the pass key. When it popped open he turned the lid up with a sigh. Inside was his colt, Glauca b1 with holder, Glock 19, and assorted ammo. He placed each on the bed and grabbed his auxiliary belt and placing it next to the weapons.

 

“I’m going to get dressed.” 

 

Rick did not wait for Daryl to leave, but he knew that he would. He made his way over to the closet sliding the doors open. He pulled on his uniform taking a few steadying breaths before putting on his belt. He placed his colt into his gun holster and clipped the Glauca holder onto his belt steadying the knife. He slid the Glock 19 into the back of his pants and placed his hat on his head. He made his way back downstairs to the kitchen. Daryl was standing to the bar eating dry cereal. 

 

“I guess all the milk would be expired.” Rick stepped into the kitchen walking over to the pantry to grab some saltines. 

 

“Never needed no milk anyhow.” Daryl tipped the box back pouring the rest into his open mouth.

 

Rick grabbed all the dry food out of the pantry that he could shoving it in his bag. “Don’t know the last time o are anything solid.” He shoved a few more crackers into his mouth then placed the pack into his bad as well. “I guess we're headed to Atlanta.” 

 

Daryl set the empty box down and nodded to Rick. Daryl hopped onto his bike as Rick slid into his cruiser. They both peeled out headed to the big city.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter. I know it's quick, but I was excited about the twists I kept thinking about. Don't get used to it though. I do work full time. I would like to thank anyone who has read my work. Id also like to give a special thanks to anyone who left a kudos.  
> Thanks.

Rick and Daryl stopped less than half a mile outside of Atlanta on the side of the interstate. Rick placed his hat in the passenger seat and put his cruiser in park as he looked around. Daryl rode his bike off the side of the road pushing it into the woods away from sight. Following his lead Rick positioned his car into a cut away fitting between two trees. He slid out of the car pulling his pack on. He tightened his straps and went to reunite with Daryl on the road. 

Daryl caught his eye as he met him in the middle of the road. “Best way to do this is on foot. The city is crawling with walkers.” Daryl situated his crossbow across his shoulder. He started striding away without further explanation. 

“When we get into the city where do we go?” Rick questioned as he caught up with. 

Daryl shrugged saying, “I found my brother's bike in the warehouse district last week.” 

Rick looked over to Daryl endeavoring to determine if he thought his brother was alive and well. “How many times have you done this?” 

Daryl huffed in annoyance. “This is the second time,” Daryl said keeping his eyes on the road ahead.

 

Rick gathered that Daryl had grown tired of questions, so he silenced himself. He watched the tree line for any signs of movement as Daryl watched the road. He would hate to lose his life in an ambush before they made it into the city and delay finding his son or Daryl's brother. That would be a horrible way to go. He survived sleeping through the beginning of the apocalypse just to die on the side of the road. Rick shook his head clearing his thoughts. To the right he could see leaves rustle with no wind. He tapped Daryl’s shoulder and signaled to the area. Daryl lifted his bow and Rick motioned for him to stay and cover him as he checked it out. Rick pulled out his knife and silently edged closer to the tree line. The walker ambled out into the ditch heading straight to Daryl. Rick slipped behind it and slid his knife into the base of its skull before it could react to his presence. It slipped to the ground with a thud and Rick turned to peer into the woods to make sure it was alone. Rick motioned to Daryl that he was stepping into the tree line. Daryl stepped to the entrance keeping a careful eye on Rick’s surroundings. Rick circles a few trees attempting to get a 360-degree view. They located no walkers, so Daryl lead them out of the tree line. Once they made it back on to the road Rick returned his knife and stepped in line with Daryl. The walk alone took more than two hours. When they got to the warehouse where the bike the heard screams. They ran around to the front of the building and stopped. They found hundreds of walkers pushing against the front door. They squat down and the ally peering around the corner.

 

“There are at least 5 people in that building.” Daryl shifted his back against the brick. 

Rick settled across from him watching the walkers. “I bet we can draw the biters away, so they can escape.” He paused looking around as a shot was fired. “Some moron is ringing the dinner bell.”

Daryl stood and looked for the shooter. “It's coming from the roof.” 

Rick looked down the opposite side of the road. “I bet I can set an alarm off down the road. One of those parked cars has to have a security system.” 

 

Daryl nodded. "I’ll circle around back and lead them the opposite way.” 

“I'll set an alarm off at least 2 blocks away.” Rick debated the best way to accomplish what he needed to. “Then I’ll head right. I’ll go two more blocks then turn right again.” 

Daryl readied his bow. “I'll wait 60 seconds after the alarm starts then head to the door. I'll lead them straight out and we should meet two blocks from here.” 

Rick nodded and peered over his shoulder away from the door. He counted to three then took off running. As soon as he was two blocks away he pulled his knife. Every car he passed he smashed the window and kept moving. He managed to set off 6 alarms before he made it to the third block. He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw hundreds of walkers following him. He banked right pushing his legs as fast as they would go. After two more blocks Rick pulled right once more and came face to face with a dozen or so walkers. He grabbed the closest one and slid his blade into the skull under the chin. He slung the body to the left using it to push another walker to the left a few feet. He swung back to the right slamming his blade into the temple of another walker. Rick pushed forward kicking out the knee of another. He cleared a path to run, but saw more walkers flooding from the alley way on the right. After a block and a half Rick saw Daryl leading a group of people into the road.

“Go back!” Rick’s ribs were burning as he got closer. 

The group turned and ran the direction they came from without Daryl. Daryl let a bolt go as a walker got to close to Rick. Rick jumped slamming his blade under the back skull of a walker that was facing Daryl. He let his body fall as he stabled into the temple of another to his left. Daryl shot another closing in on Rick as he ran the last ten yards. As Rick got within touching distance Daryl took off running. They pushed past the warehouse into a construction site. They slid into a work van and Rick dropped the visor finding the keys. He started the van tearing out of the parking lot. Rick did not slow down until they made it back to the interstate.

Rick laughed as he ran his hand through his hair. “That didn’t go as planned.” He could not catch his breath. It felt as if he had a knife embedded deep in his ribs that shifts with every breath. He dropped one hand to his wound. 

“You okay man.” Daryl eyed him. 

Rick pulled the van over by his cruiser. “I’m fine.” Rick leaned back taking a deep breath. 

Daryl let the obvious lie go. “I saw my brother.” 

Rick looked at him with wide eyes and slammed then van in reverse tearing up the grass as he slammed on the gas. He slung the rear tires onto the road and hit the gas. Daryl braced himself on the dash as the van lurched forward. 

“Damn it, Rick! Stop!” 

Rick slammed on the brakes sending Daryl forward. “You let us leave without your brother.” Rick slammed it into park then slammed his fist into the wheel. “The reason for the trip was your brother.” 

Daryl shrugged. “He was the one taking shots from the roof.” 

Without missing a beat Rick said, “Then we know where he is.” Rick tossed his hands up. 

Daryl looked away and muttered, “You’re injured.” 

Rick looked at Daryl trying to understand. He sighed and slid it back into drive. He pulled back off the interstate heading back to the warehouse. Daryl shifted looking to Rick as he shook his head. Nothing could keep him from getting to his son so, no matter how he felt Rick would not keep Daryl from his brother. Rick steadied his breathing and straightened his back. With all the walkers distracted by the alarms Rick parked the van at the back of the building. He looked at Daryl one more time then shifted out of the seat. He eased the door closed and headed to the back door. Daryl caught him before he pulled it open. 

“They locked him up there. They had a pad lock.” Daryl said as he looked up to the top of the building. 

Rick was furious. These people had left a man to die of exposure. Rick turned on Daryl. “You were just going to leave him? No food, no water, no way down.” 

“No, man. That’s my brother. I was going to come back alone.” Daryl shoved him making him back off. 

“Nothing in this world would stop me from reaching my son. You just had to say something.” Rick stepped back into his personal space. 

“When? We were running for our lives.” 

Rick gave an exhausted huff and stormed back to the van. He slung the back open with determination. He pulled a beat-up toolbox to him and opened it. Right on top was a nice black crowbar. He turned and tossed it to Daryl. 

“I’ll stay here with the van running. Go get your brother. If there are any issues I can’t handle alone, I’ll honk the horn in three short bursts.” 

Rick did not wait for a reply he slung the van door open and hopped in. Before Daryl got inside he backed the van up to the door for a quick exit.

Daryl opened the door carefully with one hand. The other hand held his hunting knife ready for a fight. Getting in was easy without the walkers banging on the door. He quickly ran upstairs and heard his brother screaming. He was dogging the so-called people that left him. Daryl stopped at the top of the stairs and slid his knife into his belt and pulled out the crowbar. 

“Shut up, Merle. You want biters coming after ya.” Daryl slide the crowbar into place and pulled.

“Baby bro?”

Daryl popped the lock and returned his crowbar to his belt. He pushed the door open and stepped out. 

“I guess you learned something surviving two weeks without me.” Merle shoved his brother's shoulder. 

“Shut up asshole. Let’s go the van is running.” Daryl turned and headed back down the stairs. 

Merle pushed passed him, “Why’d you leave it running then? Ya stupid?” 

“Na, the guy driving it did.” Daryl’s face flushed, and he shoved him then pulled out his knife again. 

“Knew you couldn't survive on your own.” Merle smirked and waited on his brother to open the door. 

“Don’t be an ass. He made me come back for you even though he's injured.” Daryl walked out just in time to see Rick bury his knife into the skull of a walker.

“Well if it ain’t so, Officer Friendly. Bet you regret coming to save me.” Merle crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the building. 

Rick sighed holstering his blade. “Merle Dixon.” He looked to Daryl nodding to him saying everything is okay. “As long as you don’t shoot me again I think we’ll be okay.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and comments. They are greatly appreciated. this chapter is kind of short. I have a lot of ideas of what is going to happen, but this chapter was hard to get out. I'm not sure why it was so hard, but its not the best. I promise to do better in the future. Thanks.

The ride back to the interstate was noiseless. Daryl sat up front with his feet on the dash as Rick drove at an unhurried steady pace. It was the first time in his life that he could remember that he had ever experienced Merle silent. He smashed his hand onto the center console and looked back at his brother. There was no apology or explanation written on his face, but a shit eating grin that drove Daryl crazy. He looked over to Rick who was smiling. He had to question the man’s sanity. He did not know Rick that well. No one in their right mind would be okay with the situation they have found themselves in. The man who tried to kill him was in the back of the van and he was humming what Daryl could only guess was show tunes. Daryl speculated if he was the only one who hadn’t lost his mind since the world has gone to shit. At the same time his mind was reeling he felt as if he could not catch his breath and it was boiling hot in the van. His brother had shot a cop. He had known about the drugs and theft, but he did not know his big brother was capable of murder. 

“It's not that bad.” Rick whispered as he observed to Daryl. He could tell the man was panicking. He was sweating and had a fine tremor in his hand as gripped his blade. 

Daryl looked away inspecting the trees pass by. He couldn't believe it. The cop his brother shot in cold blood was letting it go like it was nothing. 

Rick groaned. “It's not like this is a first to me. I’ve had people in my back seat who have tried to kill me.” It was what he did for a living. Most people who ended up in his cruiser had attempted to kill him at one point or another. 

“Not the point.” Daryl let one boot fall to the floor with a thud. 

When the van pulled along the side of the road Daryl bounded out before it was put on park. He pulled open the bag on his bike and pulled out a bottle of water staring at it. Merle cleared his throat and held his hand out waiting on it, so Daryl tossed it to Rick. He sighed and handed it to Merle not looking away from Daryl. 

“So, I've finally met your brother.” Rick said as he shifted his attention to Merle. He leaned against the hood of the van and crossed his arms over his chest. “Been wanting to meet him for years.” 

 

Merle laughed. “I know. You and Officer Asshole been trying to get me to spill his name since the beginning.” He could tell Rick was trying to make a point to his baby brother. 

Rick looked to Daryl. “Guess I have it now.” 

Rick was trying to show Daryl that this would work, that the three of them could work together and it would be okay. It had to be because he had to find his son. He knew that he would be with his mom, and she was most likely with Shane. The thought of seeing Shane once more made him shiver in a way that was not pleasant. His heart began to race, and his breath catch in the torn part of his lungs. He rubbed his aching ribs as he pondered what seeing his family again would mean. Rick closed his eyes as he ran a finger over his temple hoping for relief from the headache forming. He never thought he would be glad to have a moment interrupted by Merle. 

“Always thought you and Officer Asshole were bumping uglies, but the way he's getting your wife I guess in was wrong.” 

Rick’s jaw dropped for a moment. He quickly cleared his throat and steadied himself. “Ex-Wife.” Rick looked to Merle trying to see if he was lying. “My son?” 

“Yeah he was there. Smart kid. Sticking to his mom’s side.” 

Rick let a small smile slip onto his face. “So, they’re with your group?” 

“Don’t have a group. Just need my baby brother.” Merle huffed and walked away.

“Fuck you Merle. He needs to find his son.” Daryl shoved Merle. 

“Ya Rick’s bitch now, baby bro.” Merle grunted. 

“Aint nobodies bitch.” Daryl said. 

“No need for all that.” Rick said. “I just need to find my son, so if you know where his is you need to tell me.” 

“No,” Daryl looked to Rick. “He’ll take you.” 

“Yeah, I’ll take you tomorrow.” Merle tried to walk away, and Rick grabbed him and shoved him against the van. 

“No. I need to find my son now.” Rick was gasping for breath and his lungs ached. 

“It’s almost sundown. We’ll leave at day break.”

Rick pressed his fore arm into his throat. “We leave now.”

Daryl placed a calming hand on Rick’s shoulder. “You’re still injured. You need rest.” 

Rick looked over his shoulder to Daryl. He sighed and let Merle go. He slipped his bag off his shoulders and looked down to his hands. He slipped his bag into the back seat of his cruiser and shut the door. He put both hands on the roof of the car and stared at his boots. He kicked up some leaves and closed his eyes. He knew Daryl was right, but he did not want to accept it. He wanted his son. He slipped his shirt off his shoulders and let it fall to the ground. He pulled his tan under shirt over his head and dropped it next to his other shirt. He ran his hand over his still bruised ribs down to the bullet wound. It was puckered and sore. He sighed and popped the trunk to retrieve the first aid box. He slathered on the triple antibiotic in the front and the best he could reach in the back. He wrapped his ribs the best he could and pulled his undershirt back on. 

The three backed the van up to the cruiser and slept in the back. Rick could only sleep a few hours and woke with a start. He looked over to see both Merle and Daryl sleeping. He took a deep breath and rolled onto his knees. He moved silently up to the front. He plopped down in the driver’s seat and looked out over the road. About five walkers were walking to the city. Out of nowhere Rick punched the wheel. He slipped out of the van closing the door silently. He ran to the walkers and jumped one. He slid the blade into the temple. They both fell to the ground and Rick flipped and removed the blade. He pushed to his feet and pushed his blade under the chin of another. He grabbed another by the hair and yanked it towards him embedding his knife in the base of its skull. He turned and pushed the lifeless body into another and removed his blade and struck the other eye. After they both fell Rick turned and looked at the final standing walker. Rick stalked up to his and grabbed its head and slammed his knife down into the temple. He let it slip from his fingers and slump to the ground. He pulled his knife from the skull and looked around for more. He was alone, so he fell to his knees. His lungs were burning, and his muscles ached. He gasped for breath and grabbed his ribs. Tears burned his eyes, so he closed them. He took a deep steadying breath and pushed up to his feet. He stumbled back to the van and holstered his knife. He pulled open the door and saw Daryl sitting in the passenger’s seat with his feet propped on the dash. Daryl nodded to Rick and looked back to the road. 

Rick fell back asleep and the driver’s seat. Daryl woke him by slapping him on the shoulder. Rick jumped and was blinded by the sun momentarily. Merle was dragging the walkers from the road. Daryl hopped out to help him, so Rick got out as well. 

“What the hell happened out here.” Merle struggled pulling one of the bodies. 

“Nothing,” Daryl looked at Rick and nodded. 

“Are we going to have to go through the city to get your camp?” Rick asked as he walked up to the brothers. 

“Not my camp.” Merle stood wiping the sweat from his brow. 

“Where are these people you know staying?” Daryl was getting frustrated with his brother. It seemed like he was trying to stop Rick from getting to his son. 

“It’s on the other side of the city.” Merle said as he walked away from them. 

Merle lead them driving the van. He led them through the outskirts of town passed the warehouse where the bike was found. He took them down long winding road to a campsite. Merle stopped the van but did not get out. Both Rick and Daryl stopped and jogged into the campsite. Rick fell to his knees. There were walker bodies everywhere, and fresh grave-sites. Daryl walked over to a picnic table and found a comic book laying there. He saw it was bookmarked with a picture and handed it to Rick.

“They were here.” He gasped as he held the photo of himself, Lori, and Carl. 

Merle was standing by the Road. “Looks like they went this way.” He pointed to the right. “We may be able to catch up.” 

They followed the tracks out of the campsite hoping to find Carl. Rick felt nauseous. He had gotten close to his son but had missed him. In the back of his mind he knew that one of the grave-sites could be his son. He nearly swerved off the road as he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. He had to know. He would either find his son or someone who could tell him where he was or buried.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here is another chapter. I'm not even really sure how long it has been. i am on no type of schedule. This chapter just seems to fall flat to me. leave me some comments and concerns so i can do better. I have so many ideas for so many things later on in the story. I just have to get there. Thanks

They followed the group to the CDC with nearly zero problems. They did stop when a Walker Merle was familiar with crossed the road holding a gun. Daryl quickly put a bolt in its head and backed away while Rick grabbed the gun from the Walker’s hand. He was familiar with it, the gun. He had bought it for Shane years ago as a birthday present. He gave it to him on his first birthday after he joined the force. He'd never seen Shane without it on his person. He could see it tucked in the other man's holster, but he rarely pulled it. He had always preferred the shotgun. He had said once that the iconic sound of the pump action always startled criminals. He held it in his shaking hands. Shane had once told him that someone would have to pry that gun out of his cold dead bands. If Shane was dead Rick had to wonder what that meant for his son. The thought made his heart ache and his eyes burn, but he had to keep moving. He had to be sure. 

When they got to the CDC it was leveled with walkers circling around and through the rubble. Rick was hoping to find any clue that showed that his son was somewhere out there alive. A clue that his best friend and partner was taking care of the boy, like he had always promised to do. The thought of a world where his son does not exist made his stomach twist and knot. He could feel vile in the back of his throat making his mouth water.

That night they slept in the back of the van again, and Rick could not bring himself to complain. It could be worse. They were warm and comfortable. They could be sleeping on the ground with nothing protecting them. No roof over their head. It would be raining soaking them to the bone. They woke before the sun was up and kept moving. They stopped at every store that could be deemed useful for their survival. The first being CVS. It made Rick smile thinking of the strange young woman they met in the hospital. True to his nature Merle went straight to the pharmacy. The safe had already been pried open and emptied, so Merle browsed the shelves looking for anything to score a high. Rick shook his head. Merle had always been predictable, once an addict always an addict. 

“Grab any antibiotics you find.” Daryl called out to Merle. 

Merle huffed and started to grab a few he was familiar with. Rick saw that the door in the back was propped open. He pulled his gun and slid into the room looking around. It was full of many items that were missing from the shelves. There was an entire wall of drinks and a large pallet of water. They even had shampoo and soap. It was a gold mine. 

He peaked out of the door and called to Daryl as he was emptying a shelf of jerky. “Y'all think you can back the truck up to this back door?” 

Daryl nodded and ran back out the front door. Merle met up with Rick and pulled the back door open as his brother backed the van up to it. They slid their haul into the back of the van and lined the walls. They had 4 cases of water, bags of chips, jerky, 10 packs of 12 cans of soda, 6 gallons of pedialyte, and first aid supplies. 

“Kim was right about pharmacies.” Rick said as he filled his pack with flashlights and batteries. 

Daryl nodded as he slid a pair of scissors into a pocket. They moved onto the next place proud of their haul. It was a nearly empty sporting goods store. They did not expect to find any guns so, when the rack was empty it was no surprise. They did clear the coolers of sport drinks, get a new machete, and a new hatchet. They cleared what was left of the camping section with a shockingly large haul. The sleeping bags alone were amazing, but fire starters and canteens were at the top of the list. 

They set up a small campsite on the side of the road again. They pulled the van into the woods with its tail end sticking out. On either side of it was the cruiser and bike. They also rolled another car to box themselves to stop any walkers from wandering in. With a fire going it was almost perfect. Rick plopped down onto the ground next to the fire with a bag of Doritos, but not eating. He leaned against the bumper of the van and sighed looking into the fire. He was terrified. He could care less about the dead up and walking. He only cared about his son. There was no sign of him or his group. There was a good chance they perished inside the CDC. There was also the chance that they never made it to the CDC. He closed his eyes and shook his head attempting to shake away the negative thoughts. He was nothing without hope. He toyed with the lip of the bag thinking about eating some of the chips, but he knew that he couldn't. His stomach still could not handle it. The only solid food he had eaten in weeks was the saltines from his home. Daryl reached for the bag of chips and sat down next to him. He held the bag between his raised knees looking down at it. He rolled the top closed and sat it between them and looked at Rick. 

“We'll find him.” Daryl said looking away from Rick.

“I can’t drag y'all on a wild goose chase.” Rick dropped his head into his hands. “We both know I might be looking for a body.” 

“Still need to be found.” 

Daryl stood slowly he placed a hand on Rick’s shoulder and slid the back of the van open. Merle was sprawled out on top of an open sleeping bag. Daryl grabbed his ankle and pulled. Merle yelped and kicked out as Daryl jumped away. Merle's boot caught Rick in the side of the head. Daryl grabbed both boots and drug Merle out of the van and let him fall in a heap on the dirt. Merle quickly jumped to his feet and jumped into Daryl's face. Daryl put his hand on Merle's chest ready to push him away. Deep laughter had them both looking to the ground where Rick lay clutching his sides. He was laughing so hard tears were filling his eyes and he was gasping for air. Merle swiftly kicked him in the side and Rick yelped pulling into a fetal position. 

Rick gasped grabbing his side. “Broken. Ribs.” Rick rolled onto his knees gasping for breath. 

Daryl grabbed Rick pulling him to his feet. “Fuck you, Merle.” 

Rick grabbed Daryl's arm. “It's fine.” 

“We're leaving soon. Get your shit together.” Daryl cut his eyes to Merle. 

The cruiser was getting low on gas, so the rick siphoned it out putting it in the van. He dropped into the driver's seat dreading the ride with Merle Dixon of all people. He backed the van around the burned-out fire and on to the road. He looked out scanning the road and his eyes fell on Daryl as he was taking a drag of a cigarette. 

“You know those'll kill you.” 

Daryl scoffed. “Like that'd matter.” 

Rick chuckled. “I'd hate to survive the apocalypse then die of cancer.” He sighed eyeing Daryl. “Horrible way to go.” 

Daryl scoffed and took a deep drag and sighed. He dropped the cigarette and crushed it with his boot. He leaned against his bike and crossed his arms over his chest. 

“If I were Shane, I’d try finding a military base. Weapons and protection.” Rick said looking at Daryl. 

“Fort Benning. We avoid major highways.” 

Rick thought about. “Can't really avoid the main highway.” 

Daryl nodded he understood that this group will most likely stick to the roads. “We park the vehicles and scout on foot. See what we can see. Track ‘em.”

Merle slipped out of the woods and hopped into the van with a huff. He leaned back and rubbed his temple. A headache was starting to crush his mind. Some days he wondered why he was still alive. Why he survived. He never really had a purpose. He found it odd that after the world went to shit, he seemed to grow a conscious, and it was tiring. He was stuck with the cop that he’d Almost killed and his baby brother. He sighed in frustration. He had no other choice he had to help Officer Friendly find his family. Then maybe he and his brother could slip away. With a smile he placed a foot on the dash and waited on Rick. 

Rick go into the van without saying a word. He put the van in drive and followed Daryl out without even glancing at Merle. Rick was tapping out a small beat on the steering wheel, and Merle could see a small on his lips. Crazy. Rick Grimes was crazy. 

“I thought I was crazy.” Merle looked to him with wide eyes.

“No. You’re and addict.” Rick shrugged. “It happens.” 

“You're off your rocker.” Merle was stunned. He had never seen this side of the officer. 

“I’m just glad to be alive. The last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital was thinking I’m going to die.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Now I’m here.” 

“With the man who tried to kill you.” 

“We both know that’s not quite true.” 

Merle had nothing left to say. He watched the trees fly by as Rick watched Daryl ahead. He was leading them to an overpass on the main road. In reality the plan had major flaws. The group could have never entered the area. There was no ideal way to track them without any physical lead. If Daryl was a praying man, he’d pray to find anything. Daryl drove off the side of the road and dismounted his bike with ease. Rick pulled the van off the side of the road and pulled alongside the overpass. From the road you could not see the van beyond the bridge. Daryl and Rick drug large limbs and greenery to camouflage the van. They had to protect their supplies, so they would leave Merle with the van.

They had eight hours of day light to search so they left immediately on foot. They walked along either side of the road looming for any sign of recent travel. The sun was beaming down and water was running low. They had walked more than 8 miles before they found anything, and it was barely worth noting. It was a beat-up paperback book missing the front cover, but it was covered in dried blood. Everything was silent until they came to hundreds of cars pushed to the side off the road. Rick split to the right as Daryl went left. Both refused to walk between the cars with no idea what may be lurking there. After a few moments Daryl heard soft crying, so he lifted his hand signaling for Rick to stop. Rick ducked across the road and met up with him crouched behind a car. Still in a crouch they rounded the car and hurried behind another. Over the hood Daryl could see a woman sitting on the hood of another car. She was weeping as she stared into the woods. Daryl stood and began to slowly make his way to her. He lifted his hands in front of him and stepped into her line of sight. She gasped and raised her gun aiming at Daryl’s head. Rick stepped up next to her and placed his hand on the gun forcing her to lower it. 

“No need for all that now.” Rick kept his voice calm trying to set the woman at ease. “You all alone out here?”

She let the gun drop and looked to her crossed legs. “Had a group. They abandoned us here.” 

“Us?” Daryl questioned as he stepped closer. 

“I have a daughter. They left us after she ran into the woods trying to escape two biters.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the shortest chapter so far, and hopefully the shortest chapter in this story. it just sets up the next bit I'm working on. It still feels bland to me, and it took forever to get together. I wrote it honestly 3-4 sentences at a time. I am sorry its so blocky.  
> Thank you everyone for all the love.  
> Like many people the holidays are very hard for me, so I appreciate every comment and kudo from the bottom of my heart.  
> Thank you!

Rick stood there in the road stunned. Who in their right mind would leave a child and her grieving mother behind. He looked around and saw nothing. No real shelter or options for food or water. No leader in their right mind would do something like this. That group left them to die with no second thought. Rick could not fathom the type of person that was so heartless they could leave a child behind. He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment attempting to gather his thoughts into an orderly fashion. 

“Your girl. What’s her name?” Rick asked the woman. 

The woman smiled as she looked to him. “Sophia.” 

Rick looked to Daryl and tilted his head in question. Daryl nodded back and looked to the woods. Rick couldn’t leave that girl alone in the woods. Even if she was dead her mother needed to know. She like him needed the closure even if it was not a happy ending. Daryl and Rick would take to the woods and find Sophia or anything she left behind. Rick knew it was something he had to do. He had to do right by this little girl.

“How long ago?” Daryl did not even look at her as he asked. 

“Bout two hours ago.” She looked to her knees. “He said she was bit.” She looked to Rick with fire in her eyes. “He lied. I saw everything. They got nowhere near her.” She looked to the tree line with a deep sigh. 

“If we started now, we won’t make it back to the van by dark.” Daryl shrugged as he spoke to Rick. 

“Will your brother be fine?” Rick knew that Merle would survive, but he was more worried that he would do something stupid. Like start looking for them. Daryl gave Rick a tight nod. 

The woman hoped off the hood of the car. “I’ll come with you.” 

“Nah. You need to be here if she makes her way back.” Daryl finally looked at the woman. She reminded him of his own mother. Small and fragile. Easy to abuse. He had to look away from her. His chest felt tight making him scratch at it. Looking at her bruised arms made him want to leave her as well. She was not made for this world. 

“She may not trust us. Might not want to follow.” Rick didn’t want to get out there and find the girl then have to leave her to go get her mom. It would be a large waste of time, and would put the child in more danger. If she was alive. 

Daryl sighed. He knew they were right, but he thought she would slow them down. Rick was a big enough liability as it was. Injured and all. “How about y’all both stay here and search cars for supplies. I'll find the girl.” 

He didn’t wait for a response. He nodded to Rick and made his way into the woods. Rick jogged to catch up with him. 

“Don’t do anything stupid. If ya need-

“I’m fine on my own.” Daryl left without another word. 

“Not much of a talker, is he?” The woman questioned. 

“Let’s get to work.” Rick popped the closest trunk. He would make sure that he had plenty of supplies when Daryl gets back.

Daryl followed a simple trail. The young girl had no reason to hide her foot prints, and walkers had no brain to. He had to scoff. Anyone with eyes could follow the path. He followed the trail for two miles before he heard the rumblings of walkers. As he got closer, he stuck to the trees keeping himself from view. He peaked around one tree and saw a small blonde girl up in a tree leaning against the trunk with her eyes closed. The two walkers pawing at the tree trying to get to her. He put a bolt into the head of one and slid his blade into the other before they noticed him. The girl startled on her perch and stared down at him. 

“Sophia?” Daryl asked. 

The girl tilted her head to the side. Daryl could see that her eyes and face was red from the salt burn of tears. Her pants were torn at the knees, and she was covered in mud. The right side of her head was matted with blood from a large scrape on her forehead. The innocence shining in her eyes made Daryl's heart ache. He could never forgive a person for leaving this small child to die like this. He could think of only a few ways her situation would have ended if he did not show up. She would starve in the tree, or she’d fall to her death. It would either be the fall or the walkers waiting on her. 

“Who are you?” The girl questioned as she turned and dangled her legs. 

“Daryl.” He freed both hands. “Yer mom sent me. She’s still on the highway waiting on you.” 

“What about everybody else?” 

“They went ahead.” 

“To make sure it's safe? Is Carl with mom?” 

Daryl almost wanted to lie to the girl. Let her believe for a moment that she was not abandoned, but it couldn't last long. She would figure it out not long after they make it back to the road. 

“No. Don’t know where they went. Left yer moms alone.” Daryl placed his crossbow on the ground and lifted his arms up to Sophia. “Jump to me.” 

He didn't expect her to do it with no questions asked, but she did. With as much grace as she could muster, she rose to her feet. She held onto the trunk for balance and bent her knees. She leaped down reaching for him. Daryl grabbed her under the arms and pulled her into his body steadying her as her feet reached the ground. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. 

“You hurt?” Daryl asked her, looking her up and down. There was blood on her collar and the left side of her face. 

“I hit my head. I didn’t really look, but I think when I tripped, I hit my head on a rock.” 

“Come on, we need to head back.” He picked up the crossbow and slung it across his shoulder. “Stay behind me. Grab my belt loop and do not let go.” 

Daryl feared she might have a concussion. He had to get her medical help. He knew Kim worked in a pharmacy and knew a lot about drugs, but she might know how to help. 

When they made it back to the road, she let him go and ran straight into her mom's arms. Rick smiled as they both slid to the ground. He looked to Daryl with a bright look in his eyes and nodded to him. Daryl walked over and looked the little girl over. 

“Girl hit her head. Her face is all bloody. She might be hurt.” 

Rick sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. This was a delay that he hated. He hated that a small girl may be hurt and he couldn’t take her to a hospital. If she had a brain injury all they could do was hope her body healed itself. The thought of so much left up to fate was frightening. The only person he could think of helping her was a long shot. A pharmacy technician, not even a pharmacist. 

“We're going to have to head back.” Rick sighed trying not to think about his son. 

“That’s what I was thinking.” Daryl watched the mother and daughter stand and head towards them. “A boy named Carl was with them.” 

Rick closed his eyes. The words physically hurt him they were close to his son, but they had to turn around and go the other way. It felt as if he was leaving his son alone. Again. 

“I had hoped so.” Rick plastered a smile back on his face. “Never did catch your name, mam.” 

“No need to call me Mam. Just Carol is fine.” She smiled as she wrapped her arm around her daughters’ shoulders. 

“Daryl said you hit your head, Sophia. Is that true?” 

She nodded dropping her eyes to her feet. “I tripped and hit my head on a rock. I think. I couldn't see right when I stood up.”

“That’s okay. We have a friend back in Atlanta that could tell us if something is wrong. Do you feel okay now?” Rick said as she looked up to him. 

“I'm okay.” She insisted. “I promise. I’m just tired and it’s making my head hurt.” She looked to Carol. “Right, mom. Like before. Being sleepy makes your head hurt and everything seem bright. Like before.” 

Rick took a deep breath and placed his hand on Carol's shoulder. “Could be a concussion. Could be more, could be less. We met a girl in Atlanta who could help, but she's no doctor. We'd like to take y'all there.” 

“We could take one of these cars and make it to the van by night fall.” Daryl pointed down the road. “Drive through the night, and be at her place by morning" 

Rick nodded. “Sound like a plan to you, Carol.” 

“Let’s get going.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are. It's another chapter. Thank you so much everybody for the love. I'm sorry for taking so long between chapter, but I do work 45 hours a week. I'm doing my best. :) If i haven't said it before this is going to be a looooong story. Thing are also going to move quite slow. I have so many years of cannon to play with, and so many characters to play with as well.   
> Thanks

  


Rick’s back met a tree with a thud. Merle had his hand wrapped around his throat and got in his face.   


“What the hell to so damn long.” He slung his hands up into the air and turned and faced Daryl. “It’s after dark. What took so damn long?”  


Rick refused to rub his sore throat. He would not show Merle that he had hurt him. It would only push him to go further. In all the years Rick had known the man he has seen Merle react like this dozens of times. He always turned violent when he was worried about his baby brother.

 

“There was nothing to worry about. We found people.” Rick shrugged his shoulders looking to Carol and Sophia.   


“I don’t give a f-

 

“Merle!” Daryl yelled throwing down his bag.

 

“Dixon.” Carol tucked Sophia behind her.   


Merle finally looked to the new comers. That abused lady from the first group. He looked passed them searching for the husband.   


“He didn’t make it.” Carol looked at him through narrowed eyes.   


“Good riddance.” Merle shrugged making eye contact for the first time.  


Carol nodded to him and let Sophia from behind her. A small smile graced her lips and she let a hand drop on Sophia’s shoulder. She could not stop touching her to make sure she was there, and not in her head. In the back of her mind she always thought she would never see her daughter again. That was to be expected in this new world. You are looking at your child one moment, and the next they are never seen again. Her heart began to race as her body heated in anger. Shane had just left them to die horrible deaths. They would have either been eaten or hunger and dehydration. Sophia leaned her head against her mom’s stomach and wrapped her arms tight around her waist.   


“Momma, my head hurts.” Carol could hear the tears in her voice.   


She looked to Rick and Daryl in question. She had to wonder what they were going to do. She just got her daughter back she would not survive losing her once again.   


“We have to go back.” Daryl sighed looking to Merle.   


“What do you mean go back? Go back to what? The city?”

 

“Just outside the city.”

 

“Why? What they hell is there that we need? There ain’t nothing there worth risking our hide for.”

 

Rick cleared his throat getting Merle’s attention. “The little girl is hurt. We met someone there who might be able to help.”

 

Merle sighed looking to his boots. He could just ignore it. Ignore the girl. He looked at her squeezing her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears. He hated seeing children in pain. More so he hated seeing little girls unhappy. He knew there was no other option, they were heading back into the city to help a little girl he barley knows.

 

“How you know this person?” Merle looked to Rick.

 

“She was in the hospital I woke up in.” Rick knew Merle would complain, but ultimately comply.

 

“What makes this broad qualified?”

 

Rick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He took a deep breath and dropped on hand to his hip resting it on his gun. “She worked in a pharmacy.”

 

Merle nodded in thought. “A druggist, huh? I heard they go to school like a doc does. Ain’t no point in going to the clinic if the druggist can help ya.”

“Well, she was a technician.”   


“Hired help?” Merle through his hands up in the air. “Our best help is the hired help. What the hell this broad going to do?”  


“She knows more about it than we do.” Rick was frustrated as well, but they did not have many options. “It’s not like we can go to the ER.”  


“The little girl’s head hurts. There ain’t much nobody can do. Even a doctor. What the hell is the point of wasting the time. We might all die getting to some chick that ain’t never dealt with a head injury.”   


Rick knew he might be right, but he could not just sit around hoping she was okay. She really was the best shot.   


Daryl cut in, “What if she can help. We ain’t just gonna let a little girl die if we can try and help.”   


At those words Sophia gave a startled cry burring her faced deeper into Carol’s torso. “It might be nothing.” Rick tried to reassure her. “We just want to make sure that everything is okay.”  


Carol looked to her daughter threading her hand through her hair. “But she might not be able to help at all?”  


Rick nodded. He stepped to the back of the van and slid the door open. Daryl helped him slide their supplies to the right side and to the back. There was enough room to lay down some blankets for Carol and Sophia to lay in the back.

 

“We could make it back by morning if we leave now.” Rick let his hand drop on Daryl’s shoulder.

  
“I’ll scout ahead.”  


“You come across anything circle back and get Me and Merle.”

 

“I can handle myself.”  


“I don’t doubt that, but you don’t need to take unnecessary risks. We’re already risking enough as it is.”  


Daryl looked away not replying. He knew there was nothing to say. He knew he would not argue. Rick was right. He didn’t have to do it alone, and he probably shouldn’t. Without him they’d probably all be dead. Merle would leave Rick and the ladies immediately. There was no escaping it. Daryl Dixon was holding the group together. And that is what they are, no matter how few they were.   


“So, what’s the plan?” Merle yelled.  


“There is no need to yell, Merle. We’re leaving now.” Rick looked from Merle to Carol. “We’ve opened up a spot in the back of the van for you and your girl.” He looked back to Daryl. “Daryl will lead us out, but when we get just outside the city we’ll stop and park the bike.”

 

Merle just sighed and hopped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door. There was no discussion to be had. He had to risk booth his and his brother’s life for a little girl he doesn’t even know. There was no way he would leave them alone, but he could leave them with Rick though. But he doubted he could get Daryl to leave Rick. They had to find that man’s son so they could leave, and this just put them further away. He needed a drink.   


The drive was uneventful. Less than a mile outside the city they stopped. Rick slid into the center seat next to Merle as Daryl opened the passenger side door. They drove every slowly watching each ally way for any biters. When they passed the pharmacy Rick and Daryl hopped out and walked before the van. At the end of the road the entire cul-de-sac was fenced off. There was a large gate with two solid metal doors that would slide open. Rick looked to the left and right, he found no sign of anyone. He poised his hand to knock as he heard someone clear their throat.   


“Please do not do that.” Kim was sitting on the top of the fence with her feet dangling. “Hey, boys. You’re back sooner than I thought.”

 

“I see you’ve got more houses.”

 

“Oh, yes! We’ve been able to clear two more houses. There has been so much progress.”

 

She swung her feet over to the other side and hopped down. Rick and Daryl could hear her feet thud when she got to the ground. A chain rattled and the door began to slide open. She pushed the gate all the way open and waved the van in. There was a group of five people sitting around a campfire under a lean to. Rick assumed it was to block the light from outside eyes. She waved the van to park along the fence, and she skipped back to Rick and Daryl. The five people stood and stood close to Kim. One man stood with his body closer to rick than Kim so he could step between them if he needed to.   


“Thomas stop it.” Kim slapped the man on his arm.   


He turned and looked to her. After a few moments he sighed and stepped back. He Dropped his hand to the blade at his hip and eyes the men.   


“Don’t mind my husband. What can I help you with Rick?”

 

“We have a sick little girl. I know you probably can’t help, but we had nowhere else to go.”  


“No, that’s fine. We actually have a doctor here.” She grabbed her large braid and tugged on it. “Where is this girl?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much everyone for the love. Here is the next chapter. It's a lot quicker than i thought it would come together, but i hope that's a good thing. I hope i can start to settle to post once a week, but that's probably not going to happen.  
> Thanks!

Merle hopped out of the van and slid the back open. Carol stepped out with Sophia following. She stepped out from behind her mother and held her hand up to shake Kim’s hand. Kim looked her up and down. She could see Sophia’s eyes squinted in a headache, and her body sway back in forth as if she was on a ship. It was no good at all. Kim would bet good money, if money meant anything, that she had a low-grade concussion. Kim grabbed her hand and gave a firm shake. 

“Why hello, little lady. Name’s Kim.” Kim let the small hand drop and placed her hand on Sophia’s shoulder. 

“I’m Sophia.”

“Well, Sophia Dr. Cahnotamah will see you now.”

Kim smiled as she looked to Thomas. He sighed and let his arms drop to his sides. He pulled his long black hair into a ponytail and looked to the strange group. He waited until Rick gave him a nod in permission. He leaned over and looked Sophia in the eye. 

“Hey, Sophia you can call me Thomas. I’m a doctor, and I’ll help you the best I can.” He stood and looked to the group. “This first house here is our house. Why don’t we go in here and see what I can do for you?” 

Rick nodded to the man and they all followed him into a small brick house. Once the blue door was open a large mostly white dog with a scarred-up throat stood and stepped out. The dog showed his teeth and stood between Thomas and Rick. 

“Down. Cobi, Here.” Kim did not have to raise her voice to call the dog. 

The dog trotted away and sat next to Kim. Rick motioned everyone into the house and shut the door behind him. There was a hallway that let to the kitchen and dinning room. The dinning room looked as if it had been converted into an examination room at a doctor’s office. He stopped by a padded table and patted it. 

“Up here, Sophia.”

Carol lifted her up and she sat with her feet dangling. Carol held her hand. Rick placed his hand on Carol’s shoulder hoping to give her support as Thomas sat on a swiveling chair. He spun and faced Sophia with a smile. 

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on Sophia?”

After a moment Carol squeezed her hand. “I was running from the biters. I don’t know how far I went. Or where I was going. I just knew I couldn’t let them catch me.” She looked at Thomas for the first time, and he nodded for her to continue. “I ran though the water and my shoes were all slippery. My feet were sliding in the grass. I just kept running. Next thing I now I’m looking at dirt. I fell and I think I hit my head. On a rock maybe, but I couldn’t stop. So, I got up and kept running. Then I climbed a tree.” 

The Doctor hm’d as he ran through the examination. “So, it’s a mild concussion.” He stood and pushed the chair back. “There isn’t really much to do. We’ll give her some mild pain relievers every 6 hours for the headache, and some meclizine for the dizziness.” He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to Rick. “You should stay here for a few days so she can rest. We have a room y’all can stay in.” 

“Thank you.” Carol hugged Sophia as she looked to Thomas. 

He led them to the first room on the hallway. The room was a bright Salmon with navy blue furniture. The large bed was plenty of room for Carol and Sophia. There was a small couch were another person could sleep. 

“There is also a trundle bed.” Kim was leaning against the door jam as they looked over the room. 

She walked into the room and pulled out what appeared to be a huge drawer from under the bed. There was another mattress. 

“The couch also reclines. It may not be the most comfortable, but it can sleep two. My girl used to have sleep overs with 10 other girls.” She pointed to the closet. “There are extra pillows and blankets in the top of the closet.” 

“Thank you” Rick said to Kim.   
“No problem.” 

Kim looked over the room one more time before she turned and left. Rick ran his finger across the dresser, there was not dust accumulated. The daughter must not have been gone long. Rick sighed and looked to his group. Daryl was tucked into the corner with his hand resting on his knife. 

“Daryl, Go get Merle. Y’all take the van and store it somewhere with any easy escape.” Daryl nodded. “We’ll stay for a few days and once Sophia is ready, we’ll head back out.” Carol nodded as she and Sophia got onto the bad and kicked off their shoes. 

Rick rested his hand on his blade as he slid out the door. Daryl walked out the front door and shut it behind himself. Rick walked into the kitchen and heard raised voices from behind a closed door. 

“You can’t be mad at me! You brought them here.” Rick could tell that Thomas was speaking. 

“You gave her room away without speaking to me!” Kim was yelling as if she did not care if anyone could hear her. 

“It’s an empty room.” There was a small thump from something hitting the ground. “You brought them here. You asked for me to help them. I helped!” 

“We could’ve housed them somewhere else!”

“Why does it matter?”

A door slammed, and Rick had to assume there was a bathroom connected to the bedroom. “Kimberly, you can’t lock me out when your upset.” 

“Upset?” It was barley a whisper. “Hm, upset isn’t what I’d call it.” 

Rick couldn’t listen anymore. He backed away and slipped back into the room they were given and shut the door. Sophia was curled into a ball with Carol sitting next to her rubbing her back. Rick could feel the sorrow burn in his chest. He missed his son. He feared never seeing him again. He couldn’t bare the thought of Carl not living on this earth. He took a deep breath and slipped back out of the room. When he made it onto the porch, he could see the van backing along the house. He guessed Daryl was beside the house directing Merle, because he couldn’t see him. Merle hopped out and slung the door shut. He shook his head and looked to Rick. He shook his head again and marched up to the porch. 

“At least the digs are nice.” Merle was looking around. 

“Keep an eye out.” Rick looked to the gate. “We’ll take shifts watching throughout the day and night. We don’t really know anyone here. We won’t be here to long.” 

Merle just nodded along. Daryl stepped passed Merle and let his hand drop onto Rick’s shoulder. 

“Just till the girl is better.” 

Rick nodded to him as Daryl went back inside. Merle sat on the stairs and pulled out a whetstone and his blade. Rick took a seat next to him as he started to sharpen his blade. For a few moments rick was silent as he looked around. 

“We need to scope out the place.” Rick was looking for the other people who live here, but he couldn’t find anyone. “We’ll take 4 hour shifts from here on the porch. I don’t think anyone will sneak up from behind, and here we’ll have a good view of everything.” Rick looked to Merle, who stopped sharpening his blade to stare at Rick. He was looking at Rick like he was crazy. “What? Do you not want to take a shift?”

“What is wrong with you? I shot you. You almost died.” Merle seemed genuinely confused. 

Rick sighed and looked to his boots resting on the step. “There’s no reason to dwell on it. It’s said and done. This is a new world. We need to leave the old world in the past.” Rick looked Merle in the eye. “Don’t get me wrong. I will never forget. I will always know what you are capable of, but I also know the reason. I know what drives you, your brother. I know you wouldn’t have caused so much harm unless you had to.”

“They threatened him.”

That’s all Merle had to say, Rick understood. Merle felt like he was backed into a corner. Daryl was Merle’s weakness. Shane had tried to threaten his brother once. Merle retaliated and tried to stab the man. Rick had jumped between them, he caught a short blade in the arm. Rick rubbed the scar through his shirt as he thought about it. After it happened, he could clearly remember the shock on Merle’s face. Rick had refused to press charges, and convinced Shane to keep his mouth shut. He had known better. 

“Do you mind taking the first shift. It’s getting dark now. Sophia is already asleep, and Carol will follow. I’ll tell Daryl to rest. You come wake me in 4 hours, and I’ll take over.” 

The door slung open and Kim rushed out. She walked between Merle and Rick with out saying anything. The dog Cobi was following quick on her heels. Just like Kim, the dog paid no attention to them. Kim was off the steps before Rick could question it. She quickly dosed the fire and ran up the stairs to another house. She didn’t knock as she burst in and slammed the door behind her. Rick really didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of all the drama. He understood it, but they just didn’t have the time. He sighed and stood. 

“We good, Merle?”

Merle nodded and Rick stepped back into the house. Daryl was already dosing in the recliner. Rick was a little surprised. He had to assume the other man was exhausted. Carol was curled up against Sophia with a large navy-blue comforter over them. Rick grabbed a colorful blanket and covered Daryl. It was rough to the touch, but it would keep the man warm. Rick sat on the other side of the couch. He dropped his head back and stared up to the ceiling. He let a small smile grace his lips has he looked at the glow in the dark stars. When Carl was six, he had begged for some. Rick bought hundreds and placed them on the celling while he was at school. Rick was surprised when he came home a few months later and they were all thrown away. Lori said someone at school had made fun of them. Carl never wanted to talk about it though. Rick wished he could talk to Carl now. His body felt like it weighed 400 hundred pounds. He was having a hard time lifting his limbs. He could not even pull the lever for the recliner. He let his eyes fall closed as he tried to gather deep breathes. His lungs burned with every attempt, but he fell asleep without even noticing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a short chapter about what happens with Kim and them. There isn't really much to this chapter, but thank you for everyone who has read this so far. I appreciate it. I keep trying to do better and work quicker.  
> Thanks

Rick woke suddenly as his feet were kicked. Her jerked forward and found himself staring at Merle. 

 

“Your watch.” 

 

Rick stood and pinched the bridge of his nose. He patted Merle on the shoulder, and he stepped to the door. Daryl was still fast asleep, which was a surprise. Merle plopped down on the couch and let his heads drop back. Rick guessed he’d hear snores soon. He slipped out the door and found a nice spot on the porch. He dropped down with his back to the wall and the window to the room they were in behind his head. He could see the moon and stars shining brightly with no light pollution. Even though it was late in the night there were many people up and about. They all seemed to be doing chores. One man stopped stacking wood to stare at him and shake his head. Rick almost felt chastised, like he was supposed to be helping. In reality they probably should be. He would have to talk to everyone about it tomorrow. This group took them in and helped Sophia. The least they could do was help out around their camp. The door behind him slid open, and Rick’s hand slid to his knife as he jumped to his feet. Kim was standing there with a bright smile. 

 

“Easy there cowboy.” She laughed as she sat on the rocking swing. “Ignore the stares. They just aren’t sure what to do with outsiders.” 

 

Rick nodded and looked back to the man sorting wood. “We will help out.”

 

“No doubt. It would be appreciated, but I’ll set up tasks tomorrow. They will not trust you enough for you to just start trying to help.” He waved to the man still staring. “Trust is earned.”

 

Her long dark hair was pulled out of the braid and swung freely behind her. It nearly swept the floor as she slowly swung. Her dark eyes shown with a reflection of the moon, Rick almost didn’t notice the bruise blossomed on her dark skin. The entire right side of her face was a deep bruise. Rick shifted closer trying to get a better look. 

 

“No need to stare. It’s a normal occurrence.” She looked away from him. 

 

Rick shifted his stare back to the house with a frown. “No need to get your panties in a twist.” She chuckled. “It was my fault. I was outside the walls, alone. Had my head phones in. I didn’t hear the walkers come up behind me. I got shoved into a car.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. “Thomas was so mad.” 

 

“So, he didn’t do that?”

 

She through her head back and laughed. “Gods no.” She swung her hand out motioning to the grounds. “Most people here would assume that if we were going to beat each other Thomas wouldn’t even get a lick in.” Her eyes were bright, and she patted the seat next to her. “Like I said no need to worry. Thomas won’t even call me names when we fight. We like our relationship to be built on respect, and he thinks name calling is childish.” 

 

Rick sat next to her as she pulled her legs up and tucked them under herself. “He sounds like a good man.”

 

“The best.” She was watching the people finishing up their chores and head in. 

 

“What kind of tasks do you have planned?”

 

“We need to clear another house.” She shifted her gaze back to Rick. “I want to be prepared to take in as many people as I can. I could use the help.” 

 

Rick nodded in understanding. He didn’t feel the need to speak, so he just looked around the compound again. This group seemed to be doing good on their own. The fence was two layered the inside was built high with concrete blocks and the outside metal slats. It was really smart when the thought about it. It would take nearly a miracle to get in unnoticed. There were fire pits outside each house. they were covered by lean-tos to stop anyone outside from seeing the glow. The amount of wood stacked in different places almost made Rick gawk. 

 

“We have been working hard from the very beginning. As soon as people started looting tv’s I started hitting home depots and outdoors stores. We have teams that go out everyday and gather every supply they can get their hands on.” 

 

“That’s seems excessive.” 

 

Kim nodded. “We plan to make a permeant home here for as many people as we can. We need what we can loot to last as long as it can. We already have gardens going, and ideas for power.” 

 

The door popped open, and they both leaned forward as the door slid shut. Thomas jumped as he turned, not expecting people to be sitting on the porch. 

 

“Shit.” Kim laughed as Thomas cursed. “I didn’t expect anyone out here.”

 

Kim hopped up as she laughed. “It’s okay. I’m heading in now.” She pressed her forehead to Thomas’s and closed her eyes. “See you later.” 

 

Kim walked in and shut the door. Thomas leaned against the railing and looked to the moon. “When are you leaving?”

 

Rick stood and sighed. “Do we need to leave now?”

 

“No. No, I meant the longer you stay, the more Kim will think you are permanent.”

 

“You don’t think we’ll stay?”

 

“I know you won’t”

 

“We could.”

 

“You’re right. You could, and you’d be welcome, but you won’t. I know it.” Thomas turned and faced Rick. “You have things to do.”

 

Rick nodded. He knew Thomas was right. “I need to find my son.” 

 

Thomas closed his eyes as he let his head drop back. “Hmm” He nodded as if he was agreeing with something. “I hope you find him.”

 

“I do to. Did your daughter die here?”

 

“She did, but months before this happened.” Thomas crossed his arms over his chest as he hopped onto the railing. “Her name was Cassandra. She was diagnosed with cancer 9 months ago.” 

 

Rick closed his eyes. He couldn’t imagine what he would do if that was Carl. No, it made his heart ache. “I’m sorry.”

 

“Nothing to be sorry over.” Thomas pushed off the railing and stepped down the steps. “The end of the world saved my wife. She would be dead if she didn’t have so many people to take care of. Everyday she has a reason to get up and work.” 

 

Thomas walked away from the house without looking back. Rick had learned so much in a short amount of time. Rick leaned against the railing watching Thomas walk away. He had learned so much from a group of people he had no plan of staying with. Maybe if Carl was with them, they’d stay, but he had to find him first. Maybe when they find him, they could come back. Rick watched the moon fall and the sun rise without realizing it. He was supposed to wake Daryl hours ago, but it was to late now. Kim walked out yawning with can in her hand. 

 

“I don’t like coffee. I took every energy drink we could find and hid it. When we run out I guess I’ll go through withdraws.”

 

Rick laughed. “Let me go get Daryl. We’ll help you with the new house. 

 

“Thank You.” 

 

Her smile was as bright as when they met her. It made Rick wonder what was wrong with her. How could she smile like that in times like these?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again. Some new faces. How ready are the people at the compound for outsiders. The entire idea has me so excited. There is so many things i can do that are not cannon. It can either be great or horrible. Or i guess it could be just meh. But i hope not. Thank you so much for all the love. I hope everyone enjoys it.  
> Thanks!

Over the next few weeks Rick and the group helped clear five more houses and loot almost every store in a 50-mile radius. The amount of supplies the compound had blew their minds. Sophia was feeling better, and it was time for them to leave. Rick was dreading it. This seemed to be the safest place to be. Almost every day more people showed up to the gates. Rick had yet to figure it out. More than 50 people had showed up in the last two weeks alone. Like Ricks group they had to gain trust and earn their keep. Rick stepped off the porch as the sun rose and a grey wolf was walking in stride with him. Rick couldn’t figure out how they had domesticated these wolves, but Rick couldn’t complain. They had come on every mission and killed any walkers that got to close. The grey wolf, that was called Lily, stopped and looked to the gate. When she stopped Kim climbed the fence and sat at the top, like she did when Rick arrived. 

“New people?” Sophia asked as she stood next to Rick and Lily. 

“So, it would seem.” Rick never looked away from the gate as he stepped in front of Sofia. “Don’t worry about it. Don’t you have training with Merle this morning? He is teaching another class on knots, isn’t he?”

“Yes sir.”

“Get to it then.” Rick gave her a small shove back towards the house. 

They take turns giving lessons. Everyone in the compound held a class. Everyday it was someone new giving a new bit of information. Kim had a stock pile of books, so they all studied and taught each other something new each day. Rick had learned so much since they got here. Such as; fire making, water purifying, weapon making, snares and traps, skinning animals, hunting, and gardening. Rick had also helped teach things. Like hand to hand combat, tactical training, and he helped run the shooting range. He knew eventually they would end up here again, but now they had to leave. They had to find Carl. Daryl stepped up to Rick and let his hand drop onto Rick’s shoulder. Rick nodded to him. They were going to leave the compound alone today. They were going further into the city looking for baby supplies. A pregnant woman had stumbled up to the gates a few days ago with no supplies. She was attacked by a group of men, they had left her in a horrible state, and they took everything she had.

“While we are out, we need to look for maps of the area.” Daryl said to Rick. 

“I know.”

“We’ll check every spot they may have hauled up. There has to be some kind of track.”

Rick sighed and closed his eyes. They would be leaving the compound soon to begin the search for Carl’s group. In the back of his mind he knew Shane was leading the group. He wished he didn’t know but had a gut feeling. Shane was the one who handcuffed a man to a roof and left him to die. Shane left a young child running through the woods, and her mother stranded on the side of the road. It wouldn’t end well when Rick found them. There was no way. Rick couldn’t let these crimes against humanity go. He was startled out of his thoughts when a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder. Rick mounted his recently acquired bike as he heard Daryl’s crank. The gate slid open and they raced out with Lily pacing with Rick. 

They booked it to a run down store and parked their bikes in the woods near the building. They both had their packs on, and the straps pulled tight. Rick signaled for Daryl to go left while he headed right. Rick crept up to a car pulled up on the sidewalk. The doors were all closed, and there was no movement. Rick knew that walkers can go dormant sometimes, so he tapped on window. Lily was prowling the tree line, keeping the two men in her view. When nothing popped up, he opened the driver’s side backdoor with his blade raised. Daryl opened the passenger’s side front door with his crossbow up and ready. There was a well-worn poncho thrown over the front seat, and it seemed clean. Daryl reached his fingers out and lightly gripped the edge. He pulled it slowly letting it pool at his feet. Under it was on opened first-aid kit. He flipped it closed and flipped the latches. There was an empty car seat fastened in the back that Rick moved to unhook the seatbelt. Daryl shut the door and turned around watching the surrounding areas. Rick unhooked the seat and pulled it to the ground. He motioned for Daryl to pop the trunk. After Rick shuts the door he slipped into the front seat. He popped the glovebox and flipped through the papers. At the bottom of the stack was an old folded up map. Daryl opened the door and slid into the passenger’s seat and looked to Rick. He looked up to see Lily sitting on the side walk the car was pulled up on. 

“There’s a baby bag.” Daryl pointed to the ground next to the poncho.

“Gotta map.”

“Probably dated. No one carried maps anymore.”

“It’s a start.” Rick passed it to him. “When we get back, we can figure out where we found Carol and Sophia. Then we can map the places around they might have hauled up in.”

“You told Kim?”

“She knew from beginning we’d leave eventually.” Rick sighed. They were comfortable. They were helping build a new world. “We’ll find Carl and bring him here.” 

“We will.”

They got out of the car and made their way to the glass door. Daryl tapped on the door and waited. Three walkers stumbled to the door when the first one scratched Rick pulled the door open. Daryl buried his knife in its skull. He pushed it back and Rick shut the door again. After the other two stumbled up Rick and Daryl pulled the doors open. Rick buried his blade into the skull of one as Daryl let a bolt go. They slipped into the building and looked around. 

“Thrift Store.” Daryl said as he made his way down an aisle of clothes. 

Rick and Daryl scavenged everything they could. Once they stepped out of the building Daryl pulled a chain and padlock out of his pack secured the door. The grey wolf yipped, and they hopped on their bikes to head back to the compound. Loud howling broke the silence, and the wolf took off running. Daryl sped off to follow with Rick just behind them. When they got just outside the compound they stopped. There were men with guns just outside the gate. 

Lily growled and began to ease forward. Rick paced a hand on her fur shushing her. She might be able to stop one or two, but they were outnumbered. She was squatted down ready to pounce. Rick led them around a house outside of the wall. They slipped between the house and wall getting a better look at the group. There were twelve men standing just outside the gate with large guns, and four more in a jeep behind them. There was a rustle in the bushes across the road. Rick looked over and there was a large black wolf with bright green eyes staring right at him. It backed into the bush, so they could no longer see it. Rick peaked from behind the house again signaling for Daryl to get behind the porch. He slipped behind it with his crossbow aimed just over the ledge. Rick ran out behind a tree in the front yard. 

“Rick.” There was a small whisper.

Sophia was in the tree. She had her gun trained on the closest man. She pointed back across the road. There was Thomas crouched near the bush. He pointed further back to another small rusty red wolf named, Cole. He was nearing the jeep from the left side as Lily crept up on the right. 

“How can I help you?” Kim was speaking from her perch at the top of the gate. 

“We came to help. We have an abundance of supplies. We have been going around picking people up. Helping them.” The man in the front spoke back only looking at Kim. 

She laughed. “And the guns?”

“For our protection.”

“Guns draw the dead. Anyone with a brain knows that. So, they’re for us?”

“Not everybody takes our offer kindly.”

“So,” She paused pulling at her braid. “if we say no, you kill us?”

“My heavens, no!” He laughed. “How many people do you have? Do you have enough food?”

“Well, you see I don’t think that’s any of your business. Because, you see,” She stood letting her hand drop to the gun on her hip. “earlier just this week we found a group of people that were gunned down. They were all still sitting around their fires as they were killed. All their possessions were picked over.” 

“This new world has driven people to do some heinous things.”

“You’re right, but they didn’t have one weapon.” She flipped the clip on her holster gripping the handle. “Where did you get yours?”

“Now, there is no need for accusations.” He seemed appalled, but Rick could see that he was lying. “We were at the military base when the world when downhill.” 

“You should just leave.”

“We will never comeback. The offer of help leaves with us.”

“So, be it. We are doing fine. Leave us be.”

“So be it.”

The team backed away and loaded up in the jeep and another car. The wolves backed away disappearing into the woods. Once they pulled away rick stepped out from behind the tree watching them go. Daryl let his bow drop to his back and walked over to Thomas. 

“We have people following them.” Thomas assured. 

Rick nodded and looked up to Kim. They all knew they would be back. They were mowing down people with their guns and taking their supplies. With a sigh Kim hopped down and pulled open the gate. They had to prepare for the worst.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is late, and i have to be at work early tomorrow. But i couldn't go another week with out posting. I have no idea how long it has been, and i hope this chapter is good. I am so worn out that proofreading is sub-par, and i know it. So, i am sorry, but i am trying my best. Thank you so much everyone for all the love. If you don't know it already i quit writing for a long time, because i was getting so much hate. I had people telling me to go kill myself and all that jazz. I couldn't take it, so i abandoned all my work. so, needless to say i really appreciate it.  
> Thank You!

Daryl went back to get their bikes with a man named Hiloha behind and followed Thomas into the compound. Merle was standing with his back to the gate speaking to Kim. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes closed. Rick could tell the conversation was physically hurting. 

“You know it’s ya best.”

“Daryl won’t happy.” Kim still did not open her eyes as she shook her head. 

“My baby bro will get over it. He’s a smart man.” 

She sighed and looked up. “Why do you want to help? It’s a nice offer, but I don’t understand. You want to lead a small team to follow the group tracking those assholes. For what?” 

“Any of them serve?” She shook her head saying no. “That’s why. I like what you’re doing here. No one else would be taking people in and training them. This is the best place for me to be, so I can’t let y’all fuck it up.” 

Rick almost smiled as he shook his head letting his hand drop on to Merle’s shoulder. “Merle is right. What you are doing here is the future.” He let his hand drop and nodded to Merle. He looked back to Kim and smiled. “We found a baby bag and carrier for Monica.”

The gate slid open letting Daryl and Hiloha rolled the bikes in. Daryl had the poncho pulled on and the bag thrown over his shoulder. The carrier was sitting on the seat of Ricks Bike. Hiloha Parked the bike and brought the carrier to Rick. 

“Monica will appreciate that. Thank you. I am glad you and Daryl left the safety of the compound for this.” After he finished speaking, he turned and walked away. 

“I think he likes you.” Kim chuckled. 

Rick stared in awe. Hiloha had never spoken to any of the new people. He did not trust anyone that who did not prove their worth in his eyes. 

“To bad you’ll drop back down to the bottom when you leave.” She sighed and looked to Rick. 

“We are leaving soon. Sophia is healed. I need to find my son, but I will talk to my group. I may leave alone.” 

“No, the hell no you ain’t” Daryl stepped between Merle and Rick like he thought there was going to be a fight. “Me and Merle are coming with you.” 

“Merle is staying here.” 

Daryl turned and stared at Rick. He couldn’t believe Rick would want to leave his brother behind. “Look here now-

“Baby brother don’t speak for me. Rick is right. I’m staying here. Kim needs help with that asshole that showed up at the damn gate today.” 

He looked to Kim. “I didn’t ask him to stay.” She threw his hands up.

“Look we can find another person to come with y’all.” Thomas said.

“My brother.” Daryl tugged on the strap to his bow. “Why does he need to be the one to stay?”

“Daryl.” Merle grabbed his arm and pulled him a few feet away. 

“Stop. You don’t make decisions for me. I don’t give a shit about how you feel about it. Ain’t none of these people have Military training.” 

“We’ve been teaching them.” Daryl knew he couldn’t argue. Merle had made up his mind. 

“This is the best place for it to be. Since you’re gonna follow officer friendly like a love-sick puppy one of us gotta make sure this place don’t fail. So, really, it’s your damn fault. If you got your panties untwisted and stopped being such a bitch, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Daryl punched Merle in the shoulder. “I ain’t no bitch. If I didn’t find Rick, we wouldn’t be here.” Merle shook his head. 

Rick was talking to Kim and Thomas. “I’ll talk with Carol. She might want to stay behind. I don’t think it is a good idea to bring Sophia, and Carol might want to stay with her. I want to plan to check back in once a week, but the further we go out.” Rick shrugged.   
“You won’t be able to do that. You will always have a place here.” Kim gave him a big smile. 

“There is so much work to be done.” Thomas shrugged. “There are 354 houses in this neighborhood. 2 corn fields and 6 farms.” 

“We have a lot of the animals, but the supplies left behind would be nice.” Kim said as Thomas nodded. 

“But the farms are on the outskirts. We have to clear all the houses before we get the farms.” Thomas sighed looking to Daryl and Merle as they walked up. “We don’t have the people to do both. Fight that jack ass from earlier or the rest of the neighborhood. We would put it on hold. I know we’ve been trying to clear as much land as quickly as possible, but we can stop for a few weeks.”

“No.” Kim tugged on her braid. “Nope.” She shook her head looking at Thomas, Her eyes wide and bright. “No, we don’t know what is wasting out there, or who is out there. We decided in the beginning that we would get as much land and as many supplies as possible as quick as possible. We can’t change the plan now.”

“I remember honey, get as many people off the streets before they die or worse lose their minds.” He laughed. “My wife the bad ass Hermione of the apocalypse.”

She laughed and looked to Rick. “So that is the plan?” he asked. “get as many people as soon as possible. 

“Yeah. Think about it. How many people died the first two weeks?” She spread her arms. “How many people die every day? You can’t build a new civilization with 15 people. Especially if you’re all related.” 

“Is that why you have groups going out looking for people?” Rick asked.

“Yeah. What’s the count now? Are we over 100?”

Thomas laughed at her. She had all the plans, but like always she has a hard time following through. “112 with Monica.” 

“So, we need more houses. We only have 22 of them cleared. I mean that is six people to a house, but most of them are two bedrooms. We are running out of room.” 

“Honey calm down. No one is saying to stop.” Thomas grabbed her hand. 

“But you know me. If I stop, I won’t start again. Some things don’t change when the world stops turning. I will fixate on something else, and this will all go to shit.”

“Kimberly. Look at me.” He waited until she looked him in the eye. “I won’t let that happen. We need to plan with Rick, Daryl, and Merle right now.”

She never let go of his hand and smiled. “Yes, Rick, you don’t have to do check ins every week. You guys will always have a place here. I’d like to know that you are still alive, but your son is the priority. If my child was out there, I wouldn’t be here.” 

“We need to keep some kind of communication.” Rick paused and looked at Daryl. He needed to make sure he was okay with everything. He just nodded and shrugged. Merle pulled his flask out of his pocket and took a deep sip. “I will talk to Carrol. Daryl and I will leave in the morning. She might want to come, but I don’t think we should bring Sophia. So, she might want to stay behind.” 

Daryl nodded. “We have those walkies.” He reminded Rick. 

“What we can do is every dawn I will turn on the walkie and let you know what is going on.” 

Kim nodded. She could make peace with that. She hated to see them go, but she couldn’t be mad about it. Rick spoke of his son every day. She probably would not have stayed as long as they have if her daughter was out there. 

Thomas let go of his wife’s hand to shake Ricks. “Chi pisa la chike.” He draped his arm over Kim’s shoulders and directed her back into the house. 

Rick, Daryl and Merle hung back. Once the door shut Rick tilted his head to the right a fraction. “So, you’re staying behind?”

Merle nodded and Daryl winced. He didn’t know that Merle hadn’t told Rick. He almost felt bad that the thought Rick wanted to leave him behind. 

“Is that the best idea?” Rick questioned. 

“How many more people do I have to convince?” Merle took another sip from his flask. “No one here has any real training. We haven’t been here long enough to teach them to fight other people. They are going to have to fight those fuckers from earlier. That man was speaking out his ass. They will be back to slaughter everyone in here.” 

“You’re going to them first?” Daryl asked rolling his shoulders. 

“Scout it out. See what they have so Kim can make a plan to keep this place safe.” Merle shrugged. They made their way back into the house as quietly as they could. 

“You can’t live this way.” Thomas was whispering. “You like to pretend that you have control but look deep down. Deep in your soul your losing it.” He sighed and the could hear Kim cry. “You never take the time to look. You always assume you are to blame. You think your insane. Spare me, because you’re not.” 

“Tell me. Am I awake? Can you find the reason that no one else is living this way?” her voice was water logged with tears. 

Daryl pushed Merle into the room. Rick followed and shut the door. 

“They’ve been arguing since they came in.” Carol ran her and through Sophia’s hair. 

“Mrs. Kim is sad.” Sophia laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. 

“Mrs. Kim is sick, and sometimes she needs help.” Carol told her. 

They could still hear Thomas from the room. “There are. Your world is built on the lies you tell yourself. You are brave and strong. Your so damn smart. The voices in your head tell you that you’re not, but you are. I see it. Everyone sees it, and one day I hope you see it. And I hope that it’s not too late.” 

Music began to play lowly from their record player. The group heard the bed springs squeak signaling that someone sat down. Rick had to assume that Thomas had joined Kim on the bed. Rick kept his voice low. He did not want to disturb them. 

“Carol, we found a map today. Tonight, we are going to map out every place they could be and set a plan. We could be gone for an extended amount of time, so I need you to make a decision.” 

She nodded. Daryl let his bow drop to the bed as Rick continued. “Sophia needs to stay here. She needs to keep training. You’ve learned so much already, so you can come with us if you want. But I also would understand if you wanted to stay.” 

“Hey! I can go.” Sophia stood. “I have been training really hard.” 

“We know you have.” Daryl cut her off. “Been doing good work to, but I need you to watch Merle.”

“Hey asshole!” Merle shouted and Rick hissed for him to lower his voice. 

“I need you to make sure he don’t drink too much and keeps teaching these people.” Daryl leaned against the wall staring at his brother daring him to argue. 

“I can do that.” Sophia sat back down. 

Rick smiled at her. “We know you will do a good job.” He looked to Carol. “So, what do you think?” 

She closed her eyes in thought. Her hand was shaking so, she clenched her fist willing it to stop. She did not want to leave her daughter, but she knew they needed her. They might not know it, but She knew the group. She had been traveling with them since day one. Carl knew her from before most of the group joined. She could help Rick work his way into the group. She might even be able to get most of them to follow Rick back here, and that is what they needed to do. She dreaded having to see Shane again, but a lot of the group are good people, and would be helpful in the compound. She sighed and opened her eyes. They were sharp as she looked at Merle, catching his eye. He knew that if her did not protect that little girl with his life, she would kill him. 

“I need to go with you.” Carol motioned to Rick as she spoke. 

“You don’t have to. We can do this without you, if you don’t want to.” Daryl spoke before Rick could respond. “You ain’t owe us any debts.” 

“Yes, I do. But that’s not what this is about.” She let her lips turn up as she looked to him. “You’ll need me to talk to the group. Rick knows Shane and his ex-wife, but I know the rest of them. I was trapped on the interstate with Shane, Lori, and Carl. I was there in the beginning.”

Rick nodded and pulled the folded-up map from his back pocket. “So, let’s get started.”

Merle was a big help with the planning. They had decided to take the van and leave the bikes. It would be easier to travel long distances with the supplies they would need in the van. While they are gone Merle would work on the bikes to make sure they keep running. As soon as the sun rose the group stepped out of the house. Sophia had tears in her eyes as she clung to her mom. Hiloha met them by the van. 

“Leaving?” He looked almost disappointed. 

“Yes, I have to find my son. He is somewhere out there.” Rick tried to explain. They had worked hard to earn the trust of these people. 

He nodded in understanding. “Blessed be your travels. Hino kvllo fslaya.” He dropped his head and seemed to be praying. Once he was done, he clapped Rick on the shoulder and walked away. Even Kim was staring in awe. 

 

“I never thought my uncle would warm up to you. He barley likes me.” She smirked as he shot her a dirty look over his shoulder. Rick handed her a walkie and showed her how to use it. 

“I will turn it on at dawn tomorrow. The batteries are not great, but you can charge them here. I do not have a charging station I can bring with me, so I will try to let you know if it is going to die soon.” She nodded in understanding rolling the walkie around in her hands. “I hope we’re not gone that long, but” he shrugged not needing to finish the sentence. 

“May you have safe travels.” Thomas smiled and shook Rick then Daryl’s hand. 

Carol leaned out the back and called to them. “Come one we’re losing daylight.” 

Daryl rolled his eyes and hopped into the passenger’s seat. Rick gave Kim a small hug and got into the driver’s sat. 

“Can’t stay all day.” Daryl murmured. 

Rick started the van, and off they went.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are again. Two days in a row. Maybe three will be the charm. I really never know. I have three days off of work in a row, so we will see. I am trying to get on a set schedule, but just do not see it happening. I am super excited about the next few chapters. I love to write about emotions, and there are a lot. You guys will have to tell me how I do. I will always accept constructive criticism. How else do you learn? Thank You to every one keeping up with this story. I appreciate it.

Rick was driving the van in silence with Daryl in the passenger’s seat, and Carol’s head poking out of the window. Daryl had the map spread out across his lap tracing the roads with his fingers. Rick couldn’t take the silence anymore. It was drowning him. He had never had a problem driving in silence, but the end of the world had changed a lot of things for everyone. Daryl eyed him as he flipped the visor down and looked at the CD holder. There was not much of a choice, but Rick couldn't complain with his options. It could always be worse, there could be no CD's. One caught his eye, and he smiled. He had a copy of it back in his cruiser. He never thought he would regret leaving those behind. He almost wished he hadn't been glad to leave them behind. In high school every year on his birthday Shane had bought him a CD and left it in his locker. He had never wanted to remember those brighter times with Shane ever again, but now he would go out of his way to have his favorite music back. He looked at Daryl before he slid it out of the holder. His smile was bright as he slid the CD in place. Daryl’s jaw dropped as the opening lines of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band began playing.

“The Beatles? Really?”

Carol laughed loudly at Daryl’s astonishment. Rick began to sing along, and Daryl fully turned to stare at him. Carol also started to hum, and Daryl tuned his attention to her. She shrugged and smiled like Rick. Daryl felt like he was stuck with crazy people. He watched the trees pass them by as the music began to drown out his thoughts. Daryl didn’t even notice the album was over, and Rick put in a new CD. The opening guitar of I See a Darkness startled him out of his trance. Rick was leaned forward on the steering wheel. 

Rick was thinking of Shane. He had known him his entire life. They lived in the same neighborhood growing up and learned to ride bikes together. He almost wanted to smile at the thought. Each line of the song brought him further down. 

“And then I see a darkness”

Never in their lives did Rick believe Shane could do the things that he’s done. He left a man trapped on a roof in the Atlanta blistering sun. With no shelter, or water. Never in his life did he think Shane could stoop so low. He was never the best man, but Rick never knew he was capable of this. Leaving a child to die in the woods Not even taking a moment to look for her. Then lying to her mother. Saying she was bitten instead of helping. Rick had to wonder what was so important to leave behind common human decency. He rubbed his temple trying to stop the headache. He looked to Carol as he noticed they were once again riding in silence. She seemed to be deep in thought as well. 

For the first time in years she felt strong again. She felt like she could defend herself. There was no one looming over her shoulder telling her what she could or couldn’t do. Rick, who she had only known a few weeks, asked her opinion. He made decisions like every good leader should. He spoke to them first. Not once has she felt fear about speaking her mind. It had been a relief. 

“Where close.” Daryl interrupted everyone’s thoughts.

They were nearing the cars where they found Carol. They parked then van and placed the map on the seat. 

“So, we cut his into four grids. We will do one Grid at a time.” Rick looked to both Carol and Daryl for any objections. “Here in grid one it is mostly farm land. We have the different colored rags from that Home Depot. We cold split up in the grid and just head out. We need to be within shouting distance though.” 

“Grid ain’t to big.” Daryl ran his finger across it. “We get to the first farm in about an hour. See if we can hole up the for the night.”

“What will we do if someone is there?” Carol asked. 

“Make sure it’s not them. Then I don’t know. We’ll have to see if that happens.” Rick tilted his head in thought. “Not everybody wants people roaming on their land. We need to be careful.”

“No guns.” Daryl looked to Rick’s python. 

Daryl was right firing a gun out here could be more trouble than it was worth. “Brin them with use. Just in case.”

“Ain’t no one gonna be out here anyhow.” Daryl looked to the woods. It looked like a heard of biter came through on the last few days. 

“I don’t want to get caught by looters with no weapons.”

Daryl almost said they have their knives, but Rick had a point. He nodded in agreement. They couldn’t fight off would be pirates if they were outnumbered and out gunned. There was no arguing with the man when he was right. Daryl began splitting the rags. He had blue, Rick was red, and Carol was white. They wouldn’t get to far from each other, but it kept the trail marked, and showed where they had already been. They were looking for any sign of life. Daryl didn’t think they would find anything in the first three grids, but they did not want to miss anything. The fourth grid was on the path to Fort Benning. Rick knew Shane the best, and he thought that is where he would head. No matter how poor of an idea that was. The military had turned their backs on everyone. They were killing anyone they came across. It was better just to steer clear of a man in uniform.

There were almost no tracks. It was almost like the lands were hunted. Daryl had only come across one set of deer tracks. He whistled getting Rick’s attention. He pointed to the trail. He began to split off keeping evenly spaced out. About a mile from where the farm was supposed to be located Daryl found the eaten remains of a shot deer. Daryl could tell it had been there for about six weeks, and that is how long they were in the compound. Next to the deer was a huge pool of blood and four sets of tracks. One seemed to come from the direction of the farm, and the other three were coming from the other direction. They all seem to come to the pool of blood, then head back to the farm. Daryl tried not to notice that the smaller foot prints. They didn’t head back to the farm, and there were large blood splatters along the trail. 

Daryl stopped and looked to Rick. He motioned for them to come to him. Rick and Carol placed one last rag and walked over to Daryl. He pointed down to the deer, and the other two stared. He sighed when they both just stared. 

“Y’all blind?” He pulled on his strap. “Four tracks to the deer. Three leaving the deer.” 

“Okay?” Rick questioned. 

“I knew you were stupid.” He sighed. “Four people met here and went to the farm.”

“Why’d they leave the deer?” Carol was confused. 

Rick noticed the blood. “Looks like there was an accident.” 

Daryl debated telling them what he had guessed, but he couldn’t no tell Rick. He just hoped he didn’t panic. “Three come from the road. Look two adults and a child.” He eyed Rick. “Looks like the kid was close to the deer. The other tracks come from the farm. Might been hunting.”

“But all the blood?” Carol seemed more nervous than Daryl. She could guess what he was about to say. 

“One of them picked up the kid. All them headed back to the farm.”

“The bullet went through the deer and hit-” Rick had to gasp for breath. 

“It could be another group.” Carol tried to make Rick feel better. 

Daryl knew there was nothing he could say. They had found no trace of anyone else in the area. Rick fell to his knees attempting to catch his breath. Daryl gripped his shoulder waiting for his breathing to even out. Once it did Daryl moved his hand and Rick stood. Daryl nodded to him asking if he was okay. Rick looked away. He didn’t need to say anything. Daryl understood. This could be Carl. This could be the proof that his son was dead and had died six weeks ago. Rick folded over and vomited. He could be at the spot where his son had died. Daryl pulled a bottle of water out of his pack and handed it to Rick. Rick swished the water around in his moth and spit it out. He took another deep sip and handed the bottle back to Daryl. 

They followed the trail to a big open field. Across the field they saw the tattered remains of a house. There were hundreds of tracks through the land. A herd had come through. The barn was still smoldering. 

“No.” Rick could feel his heart pounding. He could feel it in his eyeballs. His hands began to shake uncontrollably. It was another dead end. The world seemed to fall silent as he stared at the destroyed remains of the farm. He gripped his blade until his knuckles turned white and took a staggering step forward. His legs felt like wet noodles. He could feel all his muscles clench preparing for a fight. Daryl grabbed his arm, and Rick shrugged it off. The stumbled through the weeds. Daryl and Carol followed behind him quickly. Black began to creep into his vision, and he tripped over a log. He landed on his knees and shook his head trying to clear the fog clouding his head. Never in his life had his heart raced as fast as it was now. His stomach felt heavy, even though he had recently emptied it. He jumped back to his feet attempting to steady himself. Carol wrapped her arms around his chest pulling him back. Daryl stepped in front of him, Rick could see his lips moving. He tried to look past him, so Daryl gripped his face and made him look at him. He tried to look down so, Daryl gripped his chin. The white noise was giving him a head ache. 

“Rick. Stop.” Daryl’s voice cut through the white noise. “Rick.” Rick attempted to take a deep breath realizing that he couldn’t catch his breath. “Ey, man. Breath with me. 

It took a while, but his senses began to come back. He could feel Carol’s tears soaking the back of his shirt. He could hear Daryl breathing in and out with him. He could smell the rotting flesh of dead walkers around them. He had stumbled right into there path with out noticing. He could feel Daryl’s rough hands holding his head in place and the tears burning his cheeks. He pulled away and took a deep breath. He looked down to the house. He nearly jumped when he was a man. There was an older man standing in the window looking directly at them. He shook his head and turned from the window. On the porch was the Asian man from the city. Rick grabbed Daryl and turned him. 

“Shit.” Daryl cursed. That meant Carl had been here. 

They made their way down to the house. They would learn what happened. Rick would get his answers.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everybody really read the tags. Because if not this chapter will be a shock. I debated how i was going to do this for a long time. I also debated if i was going to do it. Thank You everyone for the love.

The walk down to the house had to be one of the longest walks in Rick’s life. He could feel the dirt sliding under his boots, and hear birds chirping. If he was in the right state of mind this place would be beautiful. Even with the destruction the herd caused. Daryl never loosened the grip on his shoulder. He could feel the fingers digging into his shoulder, but it was comforting. He was glad Daryl and Carol were with him. If Daryl had stayed behind, he never would have found the deer. He most likely would have made it to the farm but would they have spoken to him without Carol? Carol walked a few feet ahead of them making sure it was safe. The white noise from earlier had cleared, and his vision was no longer tunneled. In reality it took less than a minute, but all he could think was his might have died on this land. Where would his grave be? Would they have buried him? Would they have burned the body? He just couldn’t imagine it. His son no longer living, no longer breathing. When they got to the house, they could see the big smile on the Asian man’s face. 

“Carol!” He called out. 

“Hey Glen.” He tugged on his hat and ran down the steps to met them. Daryl could see his smile was bright, and he missed Carol. 

“How did you find this place? I never thought I’d see you again.” He could remember the big fight that broke up when Shane made the decision. How Dale slammed the brake on the RV and the jeep hit it. How Shane had threatened to shoot him right then and there. He could remember how mad Shane got when they had to back track. 

She smiled as Rick and Daryl caught up to them. “Rick and Daryl found us.” She motioned to them. “We came back to see if we could find the group.” 

“Oh.” Glen looked back to the house. “Hershel and his family, they took us in.” 

“Where is everybody else?” Rick cut in. “Where is my son?” His eyes were wild. He would do almost anything to his son walk out that door. 

“Carl.” Daryl clarified for Glen. He was still watching Rick making sure that he would keep calm. He didn’t think he could stop Rick from acting like a crazy person and watch his back. He almost wanted to put himself between them to make sure nothing happened. He had to remember that this wasn’t Merle. Rick wouldn’t attack these people. 

“Carl is your son?” Glen was shocked. He pulled his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “Wow. Okay. Things went to shit here a couple a days ago.” He remembered Carl hanging off Shane’s every word until this all happened. After they left Carol and Sophia no one could get him to speak. He was devastated. After he got better, he spent all his time in the woods. Taking out walkers, training for this world. 

“My son?” Rick had to know. 

“Your boy was shot.” Hershel pushed the door open. Rick’s heart nearly stopped. He already figured that would be the case. He felt is blood begin to cool. His entire body felt like it was frozen. He couldn’t move. “But last I saw him he was burning down my barn. That was three days ago.” 

“He’s alive?” Rick was close to tears again. His legs felt too weak to carry his weight. He desperately needed to sit down, he collapsed on the steps. His erratic heart was making his head spin. 

“Last I saw.” Hershel didn’t trust the new comers. He had never fully trusted Shane’s group, and look where that got him. Shane was a disaster walking, but he was right. He was a fool. He had believed in a cure, and there wasn’t. they were lucky just to be alive There was no hope let in this world. 

“That all you gotta say, old man?” Daryl knew Rick was barely holding on. After what happened in the field, he had to keep a close eye on the other man.

“What would you have me say?” He stood tall eyeing them as if he didn’t know if he could trust them. “I took these people in. I healed your boy. As repayment these people destroyed my home.” 

“Daddy. It’s not all their fault.” A young woman stepped onto the porch. She was wiping blood from her hands. 

“No, It’s my fault too. I was delusional. Shane showed me that.” Hershel sighed. He could never follow the man, but he was right. The world had become a cruel and harsh place. 

“Where’d they go?” Daryl was fed up with the conversation. “I really don’t give a damn about all this. We just wanna find the boy.” 

“They left three days ago.” Glen pulled his hat back on and looked to Rick. “Shane let lose a dozen or so walkers and shot them all up. Hershel booked it into town. Me and Shane went go get him back. I had to drag him, told him we need Hershel for Lori.”

“What’s wrong with Lori?” Rick jerked up. Glen was shocked. There was no way he didn’t know if he knew her the few weeks before the dead started walking. 

“Shit. Oh, she’s preggo. Few months. Said it happened before the dead started walking. Thought you knew.” 

Rick scoffed. If he had any doubt Shane had been sleeping with Lori before, he knew without a doubt now. He shook his head and motioned for Glen to continue. 

“We got trapped by some bad people. Shane killed them both.” Glen couldn’t be mad about that. He was protecting the group. “Long story short we had to bring a person back. He was injured. Shane, he didn’t even talk about it. He was pissed that we didn’t leave him. Drug him out in the yard. Shot him in the head.” Glen shook his head trying to clear the image from his brain. “Next thing we know Dale is pinned down a walker on top of him. Shane wanted to leave him behind. Just go and let Dale just die here. Then a herd.”

“We all got split up.” Maggie followed for him, she grabbed his hand squeezing it. “My sister, she was pulled off by Lori and Andrea. We circled back here. Just me, daddy, Dale and Glen. We don’t know where they went. We would’a followed them already.” 

Rick turned from the group. Looking to the sky. It was another dead end. He missed his son by three days. It made his heart ache and stomach turn into knots. They had been here, and they were to late. If they had left earlier, they would have caught up to him. He would have his son. He closed his eyes processing what they had said, Shane had started killing people. He knew he wouldn’t do it for no reason, but he couldn’t see that being the answer. Murdering people in cold blood. He almost feared what could have drove him to that, and if he could be forced to kill. If it saved his son or his people, he might. 

“How is Dale now?” Carol asked Glen. 

The smile fell from his face. “He has a bad infection. He has been in and out for the last few hours.” 

Carol sighed. An infection was almost a death sentence in this new world unless you have access to antibiotics. Back at the compound they had plenty. She wondered if they could take him there now. She looked to Rick and he was thinking the same thing. 

“Can we see him?” Carol asked. 

Hershel nodded and stepped back inside. They all followed and made their way into the first room. The older man was laying in the bad with thick bandages around his torso. Blankets were piled high keeping him warm. His skin was pale with the lack of blood.

“Carol.” His voice was small, but warm. Everyone in the room could tell he was happy to see her. 

“Dale, how are you feeling?” She almost laughed after she spoke, but she didn’t know what else to say. 

“Been better.” He did chuckle. “I didnt want to leave you.”

“I know. I know, it worked out though. I met Rick and Daryl. They found her.”

Dale gasped. “Sophia, she is alive?”

“She is. She is in our camp.” Rick patted Carol’s arm. “We have people. We have medicine.” He looked to Daryl. He was in the corner of the room, clearly uncomfortable. 

“I wouldn’t make the trip.” Dale smiled. “This is the end for me.”

“We could try.” Rick didn’t want to leave him to fade away like this. 

“We can’t stay here Dale.” Hershel looked sad. “Walkers have been following that herd that came through. The farm isn’t safe anymore.” 

“There is that ambulance at the high school, maybe the walkers have cleared.” Maggie seemed hopeful. She sat on the bed next to dale and grabbed his hand. 

“No one needs to go through all that trouble for me.” Dale said. His lips were slightly blue. You could tell he wasn’t getting enough oxygen. 

“Dale. What do you want to do? The way I see it you have two options. We leave you with a gun here or We move you.” Rick hated that he might chose to stay, but he couldn’t take that decision from him. 

“I hate to put you through all the trouble, if I’m going to die anyway.” Dale sighed. 

“I’ll go.” Daryl stepped back into the group. “I’ll get the ambulance. Bring it back here.” 

Daryl wasn’t going to leave him to die like this. “I’ll lead you there.” Maggie said. 

“Then we have a plan. Is that okay with you Dale?” Rick looked him in the eye. 

“It doesn’t seem like a have much of a choice.” He didn’t seem to upset by it. 

“We can’t just leave you here to die. Maggie, Daryl go get the ambulance. We’ll stay here pack up anything that is left and make sure Dale is ready to move. Once you make it back, we’ll go back to the van.” 

“We’ll be back by dark. Back at the compound after dawn.” Daryl checked his weapons making sure he was ready to go. 

“I’ll radio Kim from the van, make sure she knows we’re coming.” 

“Bringing us in won’t be a problem will it?” Dale was concerned that they wouldn’t be welcome, and all this would be for nothing. 

“No, Kim, she wants to bring in as many people and supplies as quickly as she can.” Carol gripped his hand tightly. 

Carol stayed with Dale as everyone else split up. Maggie hoped on a horse, and Daryl on another. They were out as soon as they got the go ahead from Rick. Carol thought it was crazy that everyone seemed okay with following Rick. Not once did anyone question his authority. This was Hershel’s home, she had expected him to at least have an opinion on the plan. She sighed and looked back to Dale. It appeared that he had fallen back to sleep. She checked his pulse once and felt his forehead. He did have a fever, but it didn’t seem like it was too bad. She grabbed a towel out of the bowl of water next to the bad. She rung it out and laid it on his forehead. 

Rick and Glen were in the kitchen emptying all the cabinets. Hershel was rushing around throwing everything worth keeping in a suitcase. Once the kitchen was empty, they headed into the bath room clearing the medicine cabinet. There was not much left, but Q-Tips, Germ-X, and rubbing alcohol were needed for more than you could ever think of. They began stacking everything on the porch. They had to make sure they were ready when Maggie and Daryl got back. As they were stacking stuff the wolf Lily ran up on the porch. She yipped getting Ricks attention. 

“Lily.”

She yipped again. 

“Why are you out here?”

“She yipped and bound up the steps. When he didn’t understand she growled. 

“What’s wrong?”

She looked to the woods and growled. Rick grabbed his binoculars and looked he couldn’t see anything. 

“What?”

She growled and hopped off the porch and bound around the corner. There was a whine and a whistle. A tall dark-haired woman walked back around the house. 

“There’s a herd coming, you dumb ass.”  
Rick didn’t have time to be shocked. It was weird, but so was the dead getting up and walking.   
“Lily?” He was trying to wrap his mind around it. Here she stood. She had to be 5’10. She wore tight black leather pants and a Metallica shirt. Her hair was long and black just like Kim’s. They could be sisters.   
“Are you stupid? I said there’s a herd coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also realized that I love what I call Feral Rick, so be prepared for some non-cannon action in the next few chapters.   
> Thanks!


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